February 23, 2010. Copyright 2010, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Rinspeed UC electric car enlists the train to defeat battery anxiety
By Neil Winton

LONDON, February 23, Graphic News:  It sounds like the neatest idea yet to defeat “range anxiety” -- the fear that your battery-powered car will die before you get home. You get the train to do the long bits.

The little Rinspeed UC is designed to be easily loaded on to a long distance train, and then driven off in the centre of the city. Potential buyers of electric cars are put off by worries they will be stranded because of the unpredictability of battery life. Battery range is cut drastically if there’s more than one person in the car, the route is uphill, or the weather is severe -- hot or cold. Most of all, battery cars are hopeless for high-speed motorway travel, so Rinspeed boss Frank Rinderknecht has come up with a neat “make a virtue out of a necessity” solution. Let the train take the strain, he says.

“I can make more efficient use of my time than spending it driving on a boring highway. I’d rather visit the train restaurant or retreat to work in my car,” said Rinderknecht, who a couple of years ago unveiled the Rinspeed sQuba at the Geneva Car Show, an electric roadster which floated and dived underwater, and hasn’t been heard of since.

The two-seat UC -- for Urban Commuter -- incorporates some novel ideas. There’s no steering wheel; you guide the car using an aeroplane-like joystick. The car’s systems are operated by so-called drive-by-wire -- the connections for braking and accelerating are operated electronically, not by direct cable contact.

The lithium-ion battery produces 130 Newton metres of torque, 110km/h-70mph top speed and a range of 105km-65 miles. The body has been designed to evoke memories of the little Fiat Topolino, built from the 1930s to 1950s. Some of the features sound pricey -- the instrument cluster includes a big Swiss-made watch from Carl F. Bucherer. The electric charger outlet is covered by a Swarovski-designed lid.

So far, no arrangements have been made for UC production, nor has a deal been completed with a long-distance train company. But if there was a train deal, you would book your ticket using the car’s Harman International 3G internet connection.

And you could be forgiven for suggesting that anyone thinking this was a really neat idea could almost put it into practice today by hailing a cab when they get off the train.
/ENDS