One of Germany’s most innovative electric vehicles comes from the provinces: FINE Mobile GmbH has been developing TWIKE in Rosenthal near Marburg since 2002. A mixture of cargo bike, racing car and electric car. The latest model, TWIKE 5 – “half a Tesla with twice the driving fun” – is now set to go into series production. production.
It is not easy to describe TWIKE. From the outside, the vehicle resembles a soapbox, from the bottom a tricycle, from the top a cargo bike and from the inside an electric racing car. So far, the unusual vehicles from FINE Mobile GmbH have mainly made headlines at various international races: Winner of the e-miglia 2012, double winner at the WAVE 2012, range winner at the eRUDA 2013 – to name just a few examples. Now the company wants to build its second production vehicle, TWIKE 5.
Like a Tesla with pedal drive
This is not at a loss for impressive specs. In its most powerful version of 31.5 kWh, which the company calls “unleashed”, the TWIKE 5 should have an average top speed of 190 kilometers per hour and a range of 550 kilometers. So far, the company has envisaged a range of 300 kilometers per one-hour charge with fast charging. The vehicle is to remain a lightweight weighing a maximum of 500 kilograms (including battery).
There are plans to equip TWIKE with solar cells for charging in the future, and the possibility of feeding electricity back into the home power station is also an option for the future. The target price is between 30,000 euros (vehicle without battery) and 50,000 euros (vehicle with maximum battery configuration). Or, as FINE Mobile GmbH puts it: “half a Tesla with twice the driving pleasure”.
Different and proud of it
With all this in mind, it should not be forgotten that the TWIKE 5, like its predecessors, is equipped with a pedal drive. Why? Because TWIKE is not intended or wants to be a normal car. “The TWIKE is fun to ride and training equipment at the same time. It is more of a philosophy of life and gives people the opportunity to exercise on everyday routes. Similar to riding a bicycle, but over longer distances and in all weather conditions,” says the company’s website. They are different and proud of it.
In fact, the TWIKE tricycle concept was developed more than 30 years ago. In 1986, the “original Twike” was presented at the World Expo in Vancouver. It was developed by students at ETH Zurich. The vehicle consisted of two seats, a body, weighed 50 kilograms and reached 50 kilometers per hour with a pedal drive. In 1991, the TWIKE 2 was given an electric auxiliary drive and in 1995 the TWIKE 3 went into series production with 190 vehicles sold.
Range record: 613 kilometers on one battery charge
After that, TWIKE vehicles seemed to break all records. In 1998, after the North Cape Challenge, the vehicle made it into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest distance covered by an electric vehicle. On the first eRUDA, TWIKE was even able to beat the Tesla Roadster in terms of range: the standard battery reached 510 kilometers, the Tesla “only” 418 kilometers.
Since 2002, TWIKE production has been relocated from Switzerland to Germany and is operated by FINE Mobile GmbH in Rosenthal, around 25 kilometers from Marburg. Since then, the German-Swiss team has been working continuously on improving the vehicle, particularly its range and efficiency. In 2015, the TWIKE 3 covered the distance from Rosenthal to Putbus (Stralsund) on a single charge, setting a new personal range record of 613 kilometers – with an energy consumption of just under 4 kWh/100 km.
TWIKE 6 already in planning
After all these successes, it seemed to be time for the developers to develop a new series vehicle after the TWIKE 3: The TWIKE 5. The technical foundations have been laid. The financing is to come from crowdfunding. The company is therefore inviting interested parties to pre-order vehicles on its website.
So while the TWIKE 5 is not even on the market yet, the team is already thinking about its successor, which – how could it be otherwise? – will be called TWIKE 6.
Source: mobilitymag.de
