Mexican Media Brands
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
.jpg;width=70;height=70;mode=crop)
Share
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 Fuel Cells, Battery Enclosures, and Lucid Air
A skateboard for fuel cells, building a better battery enclosure, what ADAS does, a big engine for boats, the curious case of lean production, what drivers think, and why Lucid is remarkable
-
Ford Copies Nature
As Nature (yes, capital N Nature) has done a pretty good job of designing things, it is somewhat surprising that Man (ditto) doesn’t follow Nature’s lead more often when it comes to designing objects.
-
We Can’t Unwatch this McLaren
While we generally can’t say enough (which brings us close to saying much, much too much) about McLaren Automotive design and its exquisite use of materials, this week the company launched a product that is something we wish we didn’t see: That’s the RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph, which the company debuted at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show.
