Clever Structural Engineering for EV Motorcycle
Although the Vector is an innovative, electric, high-performance café racer, it also happens to be extraordinarily well-designed.
#hybrid
Electric vehicle batteries tend to be comparatively heavy and when you’re developing a high-performance café racer, the objective is to make it as light as possible. So Arc, a U.K.-based company that is developing the Vector racer, which has a 399-volt battery that produces 133 bhp and 109 lb-ft of torque, a top speed of 125 mph and a 0 to 60 mph time of three seconds, has done something rather clever: It is using a carbon-fiber monocoque that houses 960 Samsung 21-700 lithium-ion batteries and the motor so that it is both light and structurally stiff.
![]()
(Images: Arc)
The Vector has a mass (dry weight) of just 492.6 pounds.
![]()
Arc has tapped a number of well-known suppliers for components for the bike that is going to go into production next year at a facility in South Wales. Continental provides the anti-lock brakes, Brembo the brake discs, Ohlins the suspension, Pirelli the tires, and so on.
The bike is estimated to have an urban/ex-urban combined range of 270 miles.
![]()
The company anticipates that when the Vector goes into production 399 will be built to order in the first 18 months.
The starting price: £90,000.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Automotive: From Supercars to Supply Chains to Stamping
New tech developments in automotive ranging from the e-motor for a McLaren supercar to how Volkswagen Group is using artificial intelligence for supply chain monitoring to how Nissan is stamping without dies
-
On Developments at Lincoln, Magna, Fiskar, Volvo and More
Lincoln’s plans for electric; Magna and Fisker working together; Polestar in South Carolina; the Volvo XC60 driven; VW gets deep into 3D; Porsche exec on electric; BMW and hydrogen; Staubli cell for tire sensors; and Bridgestone invests in autonomous trucking company.
-
Jeeps Modified for Moab
On Easter morning in Moab, Utah, when the population of that exceedingly-hard-to-get-to town in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth has more than doubled, some people won’t be hunting for Easter eggs, but will be trying to get a good look at one of the vehicles six that Jeep has prepared for real-life, fast-feedback from the assembled at the annual Easter Jeep Safari.