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Type | Private company (In Liquidation) |
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Industry | Research and Development |
Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Website | www.kamkorp.com |
The Kamkorp Group was a privately held holding company, encompassing a wide range of businesses but operates mainly as Frazer-Nash Research Ltd. It was owned by UK-based Indian businessman Kamal Siddiqi. Over the past 25 years,[ when? ] the Kamkorp Group has developed proprietary digital electric and hybrid electric powertrains and products for the transportation and industrial markets. The company has produced various automobile prototypes under the brands Frazer-Nash and Metrocab. Until 2020 it owned Bristol Cars, under which brand the Bristol Bullet sports car was being developed. The Bullet was unveiled on 26 July 2016 and production was to have started in 2017. [1]
In July 2018, Frazer-Nash Research Limited was ordered by the court to be wound-up, [2] and in November 2018 a liquidator was appointed in order to liquidate the company. [3] [4] In January 2020 Kamkorp Limited was also ordered by the court to be wound-up, [5] and in February 2020 a liquidator was appointed in order to liquidate the company. [6] [7]
Type | Private company (In Liquidation) |
---|---|
Industry | Research and Development |
Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Website | frazer-nash.com |
Frazer-Nash Research Limited (FNR) was a British Research and Development company and the powerhouse of the Kamkorp Group of Companies. FNR develops projects from concept through to low volume production. In-house capabilities include mechanics, electronics, software, electrical, industrial and automotive engineering. All components of FN Range-Extended Electric powertrain are designed in-house, using systems and sub-systems developed and built within the Group companies.
FNR developed a Range-Extended Electric (REE) powertrain that has been applied to a variety of vehicle platforms from city cars to low-cost mass-transit monorails. These are electric vehicles, with an internal combustion engine (range extender) powering a matched generator as an auxiliary power unit, charging the battery pack and/or providing energy directly to the electric motors.
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The technology has been applied to a range of vehicle platforms and products by FNR, and by others developed in partnership.
A zero emission people mover which was assembled in Malaysia through a joint venture company, Perusahaan Otomobil Elektrik (POEM).
The electric Go Kart was Frazer-Nash Research's first electric drive product.
An electric vehicle (EV) designed for city and urban use.
The Road Runner had 12-motors, 4 per carriage, and could carry 45 passengers.
The Windsor was designed for golf courses and large estates.
Frazer-Nash Research collaborated with Proton Cars of Malaysia to produce electric-powered prototypes of its Saga, Persona and Exora vehicles which subsequently participated in the RAC 2011 Brighton to London Future Car Challenge. [8] Winners were determined by fuel efficiency and least polluting. The Proton Exora won in its category for two consecutive years. [9] [10]
The Frazer-Nash Namir, a prototype of a two-seater supercar claimed to be the "world’s fastest hybrid", was presented at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. It was stated it was capable of 187 mph with economy of 160mpg. According to Autocar magazine, "Frazer-Nash developed and supplied the four-motor powertrain, while Italdesign Giugiaro engineered and built everything else, from suspension to the carbonfibre tub." [11] The prototype performed a demonstration run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later in 2009. [12]
The Metrail Monorail system, with its core Frazer-Nash powertrain technology, utilises the latest advances in microelectronics, lightweight composite materials and computerised traction systems. The Metrail system benefits from a self-contained on board energy system, ruling out the need for a ‘third rail’.
The Metrocab is a Zero emissions capable taxi trialled in London. The Metrocab, like most of the above applications has the core FN powertrain technology. The taxi is driven by two electric motors, with a 1-litre petrol engine used to recharge the battery pack, coupled with an optimised generator. Charging whilst on the go takes as little as 10 minutes, alternative charging can be achieved via any electric mains outlet.
Frazer-Nash Research Limited (FNR) is the flagship company of the Kamkorp Group, and is a Research and Development company. Frazer-Nash Research focuses the development of multi-motor EV powertrain technology. [13]
Frazer-Nash Research manufactured and supplied 120 electric vehicles for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The vehicles provided were also used by Team GB to navigate the Commonwealth Park. [ citation needed ]
Frazer-Nash was the exclusive supplier of electric vehicles to the Olympic Games in Sydney in September 2000, providing over 300 vehicles to carry police officers, officials, athletes and equipment around the Olympic Park. [14]
Extending the Frazer-Nash powertrain platform, on 18 September 2003, Metrail part of the Kamkorp Group established a test demonstration facility for its electric Monorail system in Nilai, Malaysia. The monorail was constructed over a 6-month period and operated for over 9 years. [15]
Ecotive Ltd, part of the Kamkorp Group of Companies, became the new owners of the Metrocab brand in 2004, collaborating with R&D Company Frazer-Nash Research Ltd to design and develop a Metrocab taxi for greener and more sustainable transport in compliance with the upcoming Ultra Low Emission Zone in London. In 2014 the Metrocab became the world's first REE Taxi licensed by any major metropolitan area in the world, [16] a trial fleet was deployed in London marking this milestone. Ecotive Ltd partnered with Global Manufacturing Specialist Multimatic to take the product into production for Mayor Boris Johnsons Zero-Emissions-Capable target date of 1 January 2018. [17]
Ecotive Ltd. filed on 29 November 2021 for voluntary liquidation. [18]
The assets of the former Bristol Cars Limited and Bristol Cars Services Limited were purchased by the Kamkorp Group. [19]
Bristol Cars Limited and Bristol Cars Services Limited, part of Bristol Automotive Group, are engaged in the manufacturing and trading of luxury cars with headquarters in Kensington, London. [20]
URT (founded as Universal Race Technology) Group was a composites manufacturer and engineering solutions provider. URT designs, machines and manufactures composite components. [21]
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
Bristol Cars was a British Manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Bristol, England. It was formed from the car division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company after the Second World War and later became independent as Bristol Cars Limited. After being placed in receivership and being taken over in 2011, it entered liquidation in February 2020.
A compressed-air car is a compressed-air vehicle powered by pressure vessels filled with compressed air. It is propelled by the release and expansion of the air within a motor adapted to compressed air. The car might be powered solely by air, or combined with other fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or an electric plant with regenerative braking.
A vehicle start-stop system or stop-start system automatically shuts down and restarts the internal combustion engine to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. This is most advantageous for vehicles which spend significant amounts of time waiting at traffic lights or frequently come to a stop in traffic jams. Start-stop technology may become more common with more stringent government fuel economy and emissions regulations. This feature is present in hybrid electric vehicles, but has also appeared in vehicles which lack a hybrid electric powertrain. For non-electric vehicles fuel economy gains from this technology are typically in the range of 3–10%, potentially as high as 12%. In the United States, idling wastes approximately 14.8 billion liters of gasoline per year.
A diesel–electric transmission, or diesel–electric powertrain, is a transmission system for vehicles powered by diesel engines in road, rail, and marine transport. Diesel–electric transmission is based on petrol–electric transmission, a transmission system used for petrol engines.
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset.
The Toyota RAV4 EV is an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota until 2014. Two generations of the EV model were sold in California, and to fleets elsewhere in the US, with a gap of almost ten years between them.
A solar vehicle or solar electric vehicle is an electric vehicle powered completely or significantly by direct solar energy. Usually, photovoltaic (PV) cells contained in solar panels convert the sun's energy directly into electric energy.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. Most PHEVs are passenger cars, but there are also PHEV versions of sports cars, commercial vehicles and vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, and even military vehicles.
Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each function as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, boats and aircraft also exist.
Metrocab was a British brand of taxicabs, started by Metro Cammell Weymann in 1987 and from 2001 owned by Kamkorp.
The MCW Metrocab is a taxicab that was manufactured between 1987 and 2000 and as the Metrocab TTT from 2000 to 2006. It was designed and originally produced by the British vehicle manufacturing company Metro Cammell Weymann (MCW), with ownership passing to Reliant in 1989, Hooper in 1991 and finally Kamkorp in 2000.
Riversimple is a United Kingdom-based car manufacturer of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). It is based in Llandrindod Wells, a town in Wales, where there is a research & development centre and the company's offices. Riversimple was founded by former motorsport engineer and racing driver Hugo Spowers.
Archibald Goodman Frazer Nash, was an early English motor car designer, engineer, and inventor who specialised in manufacturer of light "cycle cars" and sports cars in England.
Dana TM4, previously known as TM4 Inc., is a joint-venture between Dana Corporation and government-owned public utility Hydro-Québec. Established in 1998, it is active in the development of electric vehicle motors and related power systems. After spinning-off from Hydro-Québec's research center to commercialize their electric powertrain technologies, TM4 encountered some success in the 2000s, participating in many short-lived OEM demonstration programs. Commercially, things began to take-off in the 2010s, especially after they diversified their product ranges to serve the commercial vehicle market. As of 2018, thousands of electric and hybrid vehicles were equipped with TM4 systems.
The Toyota JPN Taxi, sometimes known as the Toyota Japan Taxi, is a hybrid electric taxicab built to universal design specifications mandated by the Japanese government. Exhibited as the JPN Taxi Concept at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show in 2013, it has been produced by Toyota since 2017, mainly for the Japanese and Hong Kong markets.
The Ecotive Metrocab, first presented in December 2013, is a purpose-built electrically powered hackney carriage manufactured by Ecotive, a subsidiary of Kamkorp. The vehicle is designed to comply with Transport for London’s taxi regulations, which, from 1 January 2018, ban new diesel-powered taxis and require zero-emissions capability.
Perusahaan Otomobil Elektrik (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (POEM) is the name of a defunct Malaysian company that produced small electric vehicles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. POEM was established in 1996 as a joint venture between Tenaga Nasional and Frazer-Nash Research. The first POEM vehicle, the Eleksuria was touted as Malaysia's first electric vehicle upon its launch in December 1997.
Zytek Automotive is a British powertrain and vehicle engineering specialist, which has been part of Continental AG since 2014. Zytek Automotive designs, develops, and integrates electric motors into a range of cars and commercial vehicles. The UK facility can accommodate up to 6,000 E-Drive integrations a year in batches as low as 100.