Engineering On The Edge

Edison2 is still hard at work designing the next generation of its Very Light Car (VLC).

We’ve written about the development of the next-gen VLC before. Edison2 has also expanded its design team (including engineers who previously worked with Mercedes and Northrop Grumman), and is developing an electric version of the car. Altair ProductDesign recently announced it had been tapped to conduct a three-phase engineering study looking at suspension sensitivity, vehicle impact strategy, and structural optimization for the VLC 4.0.

The VLC first made a splash by winning the Automotive X-Prize in 2010, which came with a $5 million check. In the Mainstream class, the VLC met competition requirements including having a range of 200 miles, going 0 to 60 in less than 15 seconds, having four-passenger capacity, and mileage greater than 100mpg.

The weight reduction and fuel efficiency in the VLC has been enabled by lighter components, fewer weight-adding features (like power seats), and aerodynamics. The X-Prize version of the car (which weighed 830 lbs.) achieved 110mpg, the lowest drag ever recorded at the GM Aero Lab for a multi-passenger car, and the competition’s lowest greenhouse gas emissions (82.6 g of carbon dioxide).

According to the company, the VLC 4.0 will feature improved aerodynamics, improved driver visibility, larger wheels, a lower doorsill, and a chassis made of aluminum sheet.

Improvements to VLC 4.0 will help Edison2 move the car from prototype to a production model. You can keep up with their progress at the company’s blog.

You can see a test run of the electric VLC below:

Source: Edison2