Well, sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified,
six-car Monorail!
two-wheeled MonoTracer! And now, the Swiss X-Prize-winner has gone from unobtainable prototype to purchasable production machine. Dubbed the Peraves MonoTracer MTE-150, the Kevlar monocoque cabin cycle has had its drivetrain updated with AC Propulsion's new 3rd generation 150 kW (200 horsepower) system and its interior refined. It's all enough to make fans of high efficiency and high performance break into song.
So, what kind of performance can the modest, but growing, list of customers expect upon delivery of this exotic hand-crafted two-seater? If driven at a steady 45 miles per hour, it can return an eye-popping 525 MPGe. In more realistic scenarios though, one could expect to see 350 MPGe. That's efficient enough to achieve a 200-mile range with a lithium-polymer battery pack that holds a little better than 20 kWhrs of energy. Couple those numbers with a sub 5-second 0-to-60 time (we've heard 60-to-120 mph came in about three seconds in the prototype) and you've got the perfect vehicle for speed-thirsty eco-geeks.
To bring everyone up to speed on the retail version of the MTE-150, CEO Roger Riedener has made a series a short videos to show off and demonstrate its various features and controls. The company hopes to bring an example to California in the near future for prospective buyers to get a closer look and perhaps go for demo rides.
Hit the jump for seven separate clips that cover just about everything except the driving experience. To get an idea what that might be like check out this previous post featuring the Translogic crew giving a it a go.
So, what kind of performance can the modest, but growing, list of customers expect upon delivery of this exotic hand-crafted two-seater? If driven at a steady 45 miles per hour, it can return an eye-popping 525 MPGe. In more realistic scenarios though, one could expect to see 350 MPGe. That's efficient enough to achieve a 200-mile range with a lithium-polymer battery pack that holds a little better than 20 kWhrs of energy. Couple those numbers with a sub 5-second 0-to-60 time (we've heard 60-to-120 mph came in about three seconds in the prototype) and you've got the perfect vehicle for speed-thirsty eco-geeks.
To bring everyone up to speed on the retail version of the MTE-150, CEO Roger Riedener has made a series a short videos to show off and demonstrate its various features and controls. The company hopes to bring an example to California in the near future for prospective buyers to get a closer look and perhaps go for demo rides.
Hit the jump for seven separate clips that cover just about everything except the driving experience. To get an idea what that might be like check out this previous post featuring the Translogic crew giving a it a go.
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