Safe but super-lightweight EV

It’s not just the circus put on by the big marques at Frankfurt that make it arguably the most important motor show in the world at the moment. Granted all those three-pointed stars, conjoined rings, prancing horses, blue propellers, pouncing cats and spirits of ecstasy are often mind-boggling.

But, Germany being the hub of invention it is in the current environment of tectonic change, nestled among those extravagant displays are countless progeny of all kinds of projects, less trumpeted but no less interesting.

For example, Munich’s Technische Universität München took the opportunity at the show to unveil a super-lightweight electric coupe it claims is as safe as any normal weight car of its size and that can be made for about the same price as similar sized, conventionally powered vehicles. It's the prospective price as a production car that's the hook on which the whole concept hangs, if the smart forvision presented at the same show is any indication.

Aimed at balancing energy efficiency, performance, practicality and safety with realistic building costs, the MUTE concept (think TUM backwards as an acronym for the university, with an E denoting its powertrain) weighs just 500kg including battery. Yet it will carry two people plus luggage more than 100km at speeds of up to 120km/h.

Everything about this clean-sheet design contributes to its energy efficiency. The lights are LED all round and the HVAC system is supplemented by a carbon-neutral ethanol-fuelled heater to help deal with European winters.

It also uses a dynamic satellite navigation system capable of calculating routes on energy efficiency criteria. It’s set up via its telematics and management systems to integrate with smart charge systems, allowing drivers to check their car’s charge status remotely using a smartphone.

MUTE uses a carbon fibre reinforced chassis, wrapped around an aluminium frame, designed to minimise drag above and below the body, while skinny wheels help keep rolling resistance down. Independent single-wheel suspension all round and a purpose-developed torque vectoring transmission work in concert to put every last drop of energy from its comparatively modest 15kW electric motor and 10 kWh lithium-ion battery pack as efficiently as possible.

Torque vectoring allows torque to be distributed to the wheel most in need of it, with split-second precision, at any speed. As well as improving the quality of the drive, it helps ensure energy is only sent where it’s needed. It also helps ensure no power is wasted under redundant braking at individual corners of the vehicle. TUM claims its system can work at double the energy recovery efficiency of vehicles without such a system.

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