Hybrid by Former Head of Design at VW Due in 2009
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 06. 7.08
Mindset Six50, a Light and Little Electric Car
Murat Günak, former Head of Design at VW, has measured the vital stats of the auto industry and his diagnosis is "too big, too heavy, too expensive". With the support of Swiss millionare Lorenzo Schmid, Günak plans to buck the trend. Günak and Schmid founded the company Mindset and developed a hybrid 2+2-seater they call the Six50, a name which rubs it in the faces of the traditional sleds and SUVs.
Six50 hints at the target weight: 650 kg (1430 pounds). According to recent reports, the prototype aluminum frame with plastic body actually weighs in at 800 kg. The car will have a range of 100km (62 miles) on one charge of its lithium ion batteries and up to 800km with the two-cylinder petrol motor acting as a generator when necessary. Solar panels built into the roof help charge the battery. At its light weight, the 70kW (95HP) motor should move the Six50 along at up to 140km/h (75mph) and from 0 to 100km/h in under 6 seconds.
The six50 seems to fulfill Günak's desire to make a statement to the automotive industry, at least as far as too big and too heavy are concerned. We leave it to the reader's judgement whether cost dodges the "too expensive" bullet: the price projected at 31,000 euros at the outset is estimated to be closer to 50,000 euros when the Six50 hits the market in 2009. (Warning: save yourself some aggravation and don't even try to translate it to the weak dollar)
Hybrid and Electric Cars
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Tesla
Lithium Ion Batteries
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Lithium Ion Battery Factory in France
Nissan and NEC Make Lithium Ion Batteries
Via
::motor-talk (German)
::auto motor und sport (German)
Autobloggreen
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I tip my hat to them....
Notice:
Ducktail design to help improve aerodynamics. If you look closely, you can see that it is similar to the Aptera in this respect.
Suggestion:
It's already an unconventional design, so why not maximize you're aerodynamics and have those rims be solid and slightly convex. While you're at it, widden the rear track dissociating the wheel well from the body and have those wheels be completely shrouded. This should allow for better airflow around the rear of the car. Plus, I think it would look really unique and cool.
Loose the Carrera-esque lights up front and integrate some LEDs into the front wheel arch. That should smooth out the front further improving aerodynamics.
One last thing. Lose those two dinky looking air intakes and put something on the bottom right and left of the front fender. These are aerodynamic dead spots anyways so you might as well use one for an intake and one for the radiator. If it is properly worked, it could actually improve aerodynamics by routing some air under the car and effectively reducing the frontal area.
Love the ingenuity, hate the design.
Good design! The Aptera Motors team have plans for a 4-wheeler, 4-passenger car in the future. With this one, the future could be exciting and cleaner. Also, I like the low-rolling-friction tires, maybe they will be more popular in the future.
"Makes a statement" Yeah, weird, funny looking and expensive. Enough already with makes a statement. How about affordable, practical, available.
Whitewall tires? I never want to see them again. They went out of fashion in the 1960s.
Less glass and more solar...
It doesn't look like there's any suspension at all.
€50,000 is about $79,000 today.
Keep em coming but with a longer charge. We need to see 400+ miles to the charge before anyone wants to "invest". I dont care what it looks like as long as I can take a trip with the family.
no good for my family (3 kids and two adults)...
there is a reason for most cars to seat 5, national avr is 2.4 children!!!!
Nice! I'll never own one, but I'll be glad to know they're around.
As to why it will never work... while the average family may be 2+2.4 people, how many time does the average family all ride in the same car together? And then take a 400 mile trip? C'mon. 80% of driving is done alone and for less than 30 miles a day. We need to replace the 80% cars with vehicles tailored closely to that and then rent the other 20%.
Looks awesome !! I wish it was more affordable....maybe they could combine their efforts with Tesla motors, this could be the white knight.
Why not use all that ingenuity to build a modern-day, hybrid "Folks Wagon" that's affordable?
I agree with jt!
beautiful ibrid car...! ;)
WHY NOT MAKE AN ELECTRIC CAR LIKE THE ONE ABOVE THAT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD.WITH THE PRICE YOU HAVE YOU MIGHT SELL A MILLION,WITH A LOWER PRICE YOU COULD SELL A BILLION OR TWO.
I WAN'T A AFFORDABLE ELETRIC CAR NOW,GET OVER YOURSELVES.
Here is my diagnosis of the auto industry: unsustainable at any speed! I love automobiles and the open road as much as anyone but even if cars were totally emissions free and got 1000 MPG they are still unsustainable. Run the numbers! The shear volume of solvents, lubricants, raw materials, etc. used in their development, operation and disposal is colossal and much of it is soiling the air and oceans even if they are not giving off greenhouse gasses . The infrastructure needed to support it is massive and the violence the stress of the roads creates is devastating. And this is with just a relatively small percentage of the 6.5 billion people alive driving. As the numbers increase (see China, India, etc.), what little we have now left unpaved will be history. I am not a environmentalist lunatic. Just run the numbers...run the numbers. We need a new way of doing things.
Too big, too heavy, insufficiently aerodynamic, too expensive.
The design is diverse and appealing. It's lines does put the Dodge Magnum in mind... LOL. Like all new technologies, I definitely will have to wait & save just like I did with the Betamax and VHS. Ok, I am only 44... LOL.
I currently drive a Honda Civic and yes I definitely feel the pinch at the pump, too.
The lights of the future are starting to glow and it feels good to know that people are hard at work to repair world's economy & environment crisis.
Prosperous Wishes
1- Large diameter wheels with relatively narrow (high pressure?) tires are apparently an attempt to reduce rolling (and aero) resistence. This is good for constant speed (highway) operation, but not so good for stop & go (city) driving due to the high rotational inertia. Also, some other performance aspects (lateral acceleration, gyroscopic reactions, etc.) will be adversely affected (admittedly less significant for intended use of design).
2- There seems to be little or no wheel travel clearence.
3- As intended speed seems quite low, those can't be big brake rotors filling up the space behind those huge wheels; are they electric hub motors? If so, the unsprung weight and rolling inertia (again) will extract a penalty in ride and performance.
4- The aerodynamics of the design appears good, but could be a lot better (covered by others posting comments).