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Rinspeed Previews UC? Ahead of Geneva

Two years ago Rinspeed presented at the Geneva Auto Show a Lotus Elise based amphibious which could only have appealed to scuba enthusiasts. On a more realistic note, this year the Swiss design studio will present a battery-powered urban commuter called UC?.

The little car seems to be the sibling of a smart and a Fiat 500, but powered by electricity. The vehicle is lightweight, produces 130 Nm of torque and can reach 120 km. The urban commuter has a range of 105 kilometers.

According to Rinspeed, “The "UC?" also features a number of technical highlights: Goodbye steering wheel, hello force-feedback joystick. The new joystick technology is supplied by German electronics specialist Rafi. Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht said: "Forget everything you have learned about joysticks so far. Finally this system provides a better steering feel and clear feedback from the road."

“The entire car is operated via Space Drive, a drive-by-wire system developed by Paravan, one of the leading manufacturers of handicap vehicles. Rinspeed and its partners had to master numerous challenges surrounding the electric drive system: The lithium-ion batteries come from Li-Tec-Battery in Germany, a joint venture of Evonik and Daimler AG. The efficient and reliable on-board charger is supplied by specialist Absaar; the external stationary charger comes from ABB Sécheron.”


The UC? also manages to solve some of the most common problems of EVs, like cold weather heating. Eberspacher has developed an innovative high-voltage, high-efficiency heating system that can crank up to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) in just 30 seconds, which is a lot better than any internal combustion powered car.
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