Twike 5: Looking for money from private investors – at five percent interest

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Financing for the series production of the electric trike is still ongoing

Twike 5: Looking for money from private investors - at five percent interest-investors

What happened to the Twike? When we last reported on the vehicle in December, it was said that a prototype would be built in April. Today is April 1st. So it's time to take another look at the current state of affairs.

As a reminder, the latest version is called Twike 5 and, according to the website, is a 3.33 meter long and only 1.24 meter high electric vehicle with three wheels and two seats. With a weight of less than 500 kilos, the two-seater vehicle is registered in class L5e. The vehicle is steered neither by the handlebar nor by the steering wheel, but with two levers on the left and right by the driver – like a tank or a bulldozer.

A synchronous motor with a nominal 45 kW and 70 kW peak power provides the drive. This means that, depending on the version, the vehicle can reach speeds of 120 to 190 km / h. The fact that such high speeds are possible with so little power is probably also due to the good aerodynamics. The drag coefficient should be below 0.24, which has been the case since the new peak car value of 0.20 for the Mercedes EQS no longer looks very impressive. The product of the drag coefficient and the frontal area (drag x A) is decisive for the wind resistance, and this should be less than 0.41 m². A good value, but far from the 0.23 m² of the Twike 2 or the 0.19 m² of the Aptera 2.

The 100 km / h sprint in less than 3.8 seconds (determined by simulation) is also impressive in view of the modest performance. But this figure is apparently only given by Twike for marketing purposes. Whether it will stay that way in the series is questionable, especially since high tire wear would then be the order of the day, according to Twike himself.

Actually, the team behind the Twike (originally they were students at ETH Zurich) is about efficiency. In the beginning, in the 1980s, the vehicle was also a body-built bicycle for two people – hence the name, which is made up of Twin Bike. The Twike 2 from 1991 already had electrical support and a nickel-cadmium battery. The Twike 3 is still available with a lithium-ion battery and optional pedal pedals. The Twike 4 was a competition vehicle for the X-Prize.

Back to the current project, the Twike 5. As I said, it is aimed at efficiency, i.e. low power consumption. It should be less than 7 kWh / 100 km. That is only half as much as the best "real" electric cars need. Optional here a "pedal generator" built in, no more direct chain drive as with the Twike 3. The current generated by pedaling increases the range and at the same time promotes fitness. There should also be an optional convertible top, which should be particularly welcome among the pedaling group in summer.

Charging is carried out via the CCS2 connection with up to 22 kW alternating current. This should be able to recharge a range of 5 km per minute. It goes even faster with direct current (up to 30 kW), then it is 6.8 km per minute.

The financing of the series production is apparently not yet in the towel. In any case, you can still participate by loan – from 100 euros, with an interest rate of 5 percent. In this way they raised almost half a million. Since the upper limit is set at six million euros, there is apparently still a whole lot of money missing.

At the end of 2020 it was said that a prototype would be built at the beginning of the second quarter of 2021 (i.e. from April). Then a pilot series should follow and finally the series of only 500 vehicles. Twike remains at this number, although they already have over 1,000 pre-orders. Withdrawals from the purchase are expected. A date for series production is not mentioned on the website. Instead, it says: "The first test vehicles are about to be built. Close-to-production prototypes will follow soon." The prices should be between 39,900 euros (15 kWh for 250 km range) and 49,900 euros (30 kWh for 500 km).

More about the Twike and another unusual e-mobile: Twike 5: Looking for money from private investors - at five percent interest-percent Twike 5: Light electric vehicle with pedal pedals will probably start in 2021

Twike 5: Looking for money from private investors - at five percent interest-looking Microlino 2.0: Despite Corona, series production is to start in 2021

Photo gallery: Twike 5 (as of 2020)

Twike 5: Looking for money from private investors - at five percent interest-twike

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