EV skateboards go naked for videos

Videos of electric vehicles stripped down to their skateboard chassis and hooning about has suddenly become a thing.

California’s Canoo recently showed off its EV chassis scooting about in the desert with racer Sarah Price behind the wheel.

Israel’s REE went a bit further in October, showing three different platforms at a racetrack driving a bit more slowly, but doing it autonomously.

The purpose in both cases was to show off the progress both companies are making with their platforms, which they propose to fit under multiple body shapes.

In the case of Canoo, it previously revealed a passenger vehicle it also calls Canoo, which it intends to launch in 2022 and sell only via subscription.

Canoo also has a partnership with Hyundai to develop an EV platform and has announced plans to cash in on the EV boom by going public via reverse merger as Nikola – among others – has recently done.

REE has not announced any plans to launch its own vehicles. Instead it intends to offer car-makers a number of platform sizes suitable for everything from pint-size autonomous parcel delivery to heavy-duty inter-city transport.

It does have a deal with Indian auto manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra to establish a strategic collaboration for the development and production of an initial capacity of up to 250,000 EVs aimed at the commercial market.

REE says its scalable architectures feature two core innovations it has developed. They are the REEcorner, which integrates all traditional vehicle components (steering, braking, suspension, e-motor) into the arch of the wheel. The other is REEboard, which is the completely flat and modular platform itself.

In the video REE showcases three of its modular next-generation EV platforms on the track, demonstrating its X-by-Wire technology in P1, P2 and P4 platforms.

The P1 platform of up to 1.3-ton GVW is geared for LSV last-mile inner-city delivery applications. The P2 platform scales up to 2.5-tons GVW and is designed to transport passengers and cargo.

The P4 platform offers up to 4.5-tons GVW and is uniquely built for the North American market delivery segment. Other REE platform options are the bigger P6 and P7.

The P1 platform has a 20kWh battery, a 47kW e-motor and range of up to 220km. At the other extreme, the P7 has a 100kWh battery and up to 250km of range. No e-motor details are provided. The P1 can carry 350kg worth of freight and the P7 4000kg.

“Our platform provides the perfect blank canvas for our customers on which to build EVs tailored to their needs, whether it’s a fully autonomous last-mile delivery vehicle, a spacious yet compact urban shuttle or a flexible delivery truck with higher load capability on a smaller footprint,” said REE Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Barel.

Canoo’s modular skateboard includes steer-by-wire platform, a transverse composite leaf spring suspension system, a proprietary battery compartment and battery thermal management systems, power electronics, vehicle controls, crash absorption structures and autonomous driving components, among others.

It supports dual, front or rear motor configurations and is capable of achieving up to 370kW and over 480km of range with dual motors. The rear primary unit is claimed to deliver maximum outputs of 220kW/450Nm, and the front unit is designed to deliver a maximum 150kW/320Nm.

Sara Price said of the driving experience:

“I was blown away by how fun it was to drive,” said Price. “The overall performance was impressive.

“The skateboard felt powerful, with smooth and dynamic handling, especially during high speed cornering. The drive-by-wire steering was something new for me and it felt like it was built for the track.”