Poll: Next big "green" powertrain
What will be the next big "green" powertrain in the U.S.?
The Lumeneo Smera – Super Thin Electric Vehicle
Font size:
The Lumeneo Smera is a two seat, four wheel electric vehicle that is narrow enough to maneuver as a motorcycle. The Smera is 8 feet (2.4 meters) long and less than 3 feet (80 cm) wide.
The vehicle is quite narrow, and handles more like a motorcycle than a car, tilting around curves rather than turning.Special gears and mechanisms built in calculate the appropriate lean for the speed and angle of the turn. No one has to figure out how to lean from the seat or worry about tipping over because the car handles everything for the driver.
The wheels are powered by two 20 hp electric engines, one for each axle, powered by a lithium ion battery. The battery takes a plug-in electric charge of 15kw to take you 93 miles between charges reaching max. 80 mph. It only needs 7kw to go as far as 62 miles.
You also gain power by braking. Each braking action is transformed into energy by the alternator and is stored in the batteries.
The Smera is powered with a 144 volt lithium ion battery, which can be charged in a few hours. The company claims that the Lithium batteries are designed to work at least 10 years.
According to Lumeneo the battery should have 124,000 miles (200,000 km) lifetime.
Seeing as how gas is only going to get more expensive, it’s no surprise to find more and more alternative vehicles such as the Lumeneo Smera.
The Smera is still a pre production prototype that is expected to go into production in 2009 with prices between $31 - 46,000 (20-30,000 Euros).
The Lumeneo Smera will be unveiled this October at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
del.icio.us
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain textRate this article
Comments (1 posted):
Post your comment