Denmark's e-bike maker Biomega has unveiled its first four-wheel electric vehicle – the Sin crossover utility vehicle. The concept brings to mind Renault's Twizy, but has room for four, is designed as a car not a quadricycle and has a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph).
In keeping with Biomega's e-bike naming convention, the Sin concept has been named after a city that inspired some of the design elements, which in this case is Singapore.
"Biomega has always been about creating a paradigm shift in the way society imagines transportation," said the company's founder Jens Martin Skibsted. "We feel that we are in an extremely strong position to design an EV that represents the frontier of the new mobility. We are working on a new spectrum of vehicles where, for now, the EV is the largest and the bicycle is the most compact; making Sin another step in the natural progression of our ongoing battle against the combustion car."
Pitched as an affordable and sustainable solution to modern urban mobility, the 950 kg (2,094 lb) vehicle sports a body shell fashioned from lightweight composites (including carbon fiber) and aluminum crossbeams with a one-piece transparent roof and windshield, a see-through front section where the grille sits on a traditional car and transparent driver and passenger doors – all to allow for optimum view of the road.
The majority of the Sin's 20 kWh battery modules are housed in the floor of the vehicle. But 6 kWh worth of modular battery units to the rear can be removed and replaced while out and about, presumably at some sort of battery swap facility along the way – though it's not clear at this point exactly how this will work.
Each wheel gets a 15 kW in-hub motor for 160 Nm of torque, and a zero to 100 km/h (0 - 62 mph) time of 13 seconds on the way to a top speed of 130 km/h. Biomega gives a range per charge figure of 160 km (100 mi).
There's a distinctly less is more approach to the inside of the vehicle, with a rectangular steering "wheel" and tablet-like display, and mesh seats for the driver and three passengers. And not much else.
The production window for the Sin EV is somewhere between 2021 and 2023, with a price tag of €20,000 (about US$23,000). The brief video below has more.
Update November 13, 2018: Biomega has provided us with some additional information about its Sin electric car.
"The fascia window opening highlights the possibilities of design using an electric powertrain.
The absence of a front drive combustion engine allows us to obtain a spacious flat floor interior and clears space in front of the driver. We wanted to highlight this characteristic by creating a frontal window that further connects the passengers with the surroundings. In fact, using the fascia window, we believe we can achieve a visibility point that for the first time allows the driver to see the rear wheel of a bicycle riding in front of them.
Similarly, we aimed for large open windows on the side which further connects the passengers with the environment around them. Instead of closing the passengers to the vehicle, we wanted to create a sense of openness through the vehicle's design that allows for a compact vehicle which still feels roomy and comfortable.
In terms of safety:The current vehicle has been designed as a concept car, therefore the structural elements haven't been yet developed to the fullest extent of regulation and safety standards. The vehicle is being designed to be built with a composite based structure. This technology allows for a low deformation factor upon impact, we are designing the car as a 'cage' composite structure which will comply with the necessary crash test standards. Additionally, by externalizing several components (for example the motors are contained within the wheels) and limiting the number of moving parts, we clear the interior cabin for passenger which in case of crash lowers the number of parts that may impact the passengers.
On the side door openings, we have currently avoided using a B-Pilar. This can be achieved through the use of a sound side frame structure and a reinforced door structure. The final product may, however include a B-Pilar column to further increase side impact safety. As mentioned, structural elements will be further developed in the upcoming stages to comply with international safety and regulatory standards."
Source: Biomega
