New Electric Car from Munich Set to Impress Frankfurt Auto Show

This man’s not a professional driver.

He’s a scientist, testing a prototype that could be the next big thing in electric cars.

It’s called the Mute, M-U-T-E. The concept came from Munich’s Technical University, where it was also designed and built.

Students from twenty different departments joined hands to make it work.

The car is set to debut publicly at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show.

This is where the industry’s manufacturers, experts and analysts gather to see the latest trends.

The students say they’re confident this one will make a lasting impression.

The car is designed for city commuters, who care about efficiency and safely.

[Michael Graf, Head of Car Dynamics Project]:

„We wanted to build a city car which has a range of a bout 100 kilometres. The maximum velocity is 120 kilometres per hour. The special thing regarding the vehicle dynamics is the Torque Vectoring. That means we are distributing the engine torque (moment of force) from left to right or from right to left so if I’m going in a corner the outer wheel is turning more and it helps me to turn the car in the corner. So, that means we can maximize the stability of the car and therefore also the driving security. That means we can … Even if we are in low friction corners, if it’s raining or snowing, the car is still stable.“

The car has two seats. It uses technologies that focus on economy and environmental cleanliness.

It’s powered by a conventional electric motor.

The motor generates just 15kW (20 hp) of power, but is efficient, inexpensive and durable.

This car weighs around 11 hundred pounds (500 kilograms) with the battery.

Being both lightweight and meeting car safety standards was part of the challenge.

The team say they were able to achieve this by using carbon fiber as the material.

For now, the prototype is due to make its public debut in Frankfurt in September.

[Michael Graf, Head of Car Dynamics Project]:

„The near future is that we are presenting the car at the IAA (car show) in Frankfurt. There is now quite a lot of electric cars presented. We are planning or it’s planned to built this car in five years for the mass production. We think that we producing or if we are producing 25,000 cars then the car is affordable for the customer with about nine or ten thousand euros.“

The car comes with full wireless connectivity with a mobile radio that can navigate, show traffic conditions and entertain

Foto: NTD