TWIKE electric vehicle travels over 500 km with standard battery and outperforms Tesla Roadster in range competition
02.07.2013 Rosenthal
Last weekend at the first eRUDA, the electric vehicle rally around Lake Ammersee, Wolfgang Möscheid, the works driver of TWIKE manufacturer FINE Mobile, achieved a range of 510 kilometres in 11 laps. The challenger Robert Häring on a Tesla Roadster from Hering Solar finished the competition after 9 laps and 418 kilometres.
Over 100 electric vehicles took part in the 1st eRUDA, the electric vehicle rally around Lake Ammersee on 29 and 30 June 2013. In two special stages, all participants were free to prove their range and suitability for everyday use. In addition to the range record, the “TWIKE Pilot” team won first place in the categories “Vehicle with the highest mileage” (192,000 km) and “Team with the most total kilometres” (962,000 km). As the overall ranking is very much based on the number of vehicles participating in a team, the TWIKE Pilot team was delighted to take overall victory in the first eRUDA with 16 vehicles.
The battery that made the range record possible is a series battery from TWIKE that has already been used in predecessor cells for seven years and in several hundred vehicles. It is a high-quality cell from Sony, which is assembled for TWIKE in Germany by the company BMZ. Since the introduction of this cell in 2007, space has been saved in the luggage compartment as a side effect. Previously, two to five battery packs with 5.6 Ah cells or five battery packs with the 7.6 Ah cells available since April 2013 were installed, which already enables ranges of over 300 kilometres. For the range test of the eRUDA, BMZ now supplied a battery pack with 7 × 7.6 Ah, which enables a capacity of around 18.5 kWh. Especially for the range test, the TWIKE was converted from a muscle hybrid to a pure electric vehicle by removing the chain.
The following vehicles were among those registered at eRUDA: TWIKE, Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Opel Ampera, Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Renault Twizy, Renault ZOE, Renault Fluence, Peugeot iOn, CityEl
Website of the organiser: www.eRUDA.de
The vehicle
The TWIKE is a three-wheeled electric vehicle for two people and luggage. With its consumption of 5 kWh / 100 km, it is unrivalled in terms of efficiency. With its top speed of 85 km/h, the TWIKE keeps up well in city traffic as well as in the countryside, while its acceleration usually causes an unexpected stir. The TWIKE is also a human power hybrid. It combines the electric motor with a pedal unit, which allows the riders to get involved in sport as they please during the ride without any pressure to perform and contribute to the movement with their muscle power. This gives the occupants the opportunity to keep fit during their daily journeys. All range figures refer to purely electric driving.
Parallel (WAVE)
From 28 June to 7 July, the WAVE Parallel will take 40 electric vehicles from Vienna to Zurich, including a TWIKE. In the last two years (Paris-Prague and Genoa-Amsterdam), a TWIKE has taken first place in this cycling event, which is designed for performance and endurance.
