Cars and Automotive Design

Created by Yohann Panthakee on 12 April, 2018

Any UK engineers/designers interested in collaborating: development of ultra lightweight, minimalist EV?

I'm the founder of a small startup in Edinburgh, and alongside my main work (developing an ebike drive motor), I have also been working on the design on a somewhat radical EV.


The goal: to develop an affordable mode of transport which achieves ultra low kWh/km compared to existing EV's (and therefore very low CO2/Km), and has a decent range (eg ~200 miles).

I'm confident this can be achieved by keeping weight to ~ 500kg, and achieving very low CdA.  The compromise here is that the car has to be very small and have a very aerodynamic (ie teardrop like) form. I would envisage this being developed as a low volume production car. It will probably end up looking something like the "Loremo": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loremo


So far I've done the following work:

  • developed a fairly accurate physics model in excel, to predict 0-60, top speed and range based on various input parameters (mass, CdA, motor power/torque/rpm etc) and validated it by plugging in numbers for existing production EV's.
  • extensively researched motors, batteries and controllers, and obtained quotes.
  • drawn up a concept in Solidworks. Layout, chassis design, battery design and transmission design are fairly well developed, however bodywork certainly needs some work!


To get it off the ground, I've been considering applying for funding from Innovate UK to develop designs and build a prototype. Looking for like minded people interested in getting involved in a collaborative way, as I think it would be a) more enjoyable to do this project with others, and b) would stand a better chance of making it to market.


Specifically looking for people with experience of bodywork design, CFD and EV design regs & testing.


Just thought initially I'd throw it out there on here and see what the response/feedback is!


Mark