We all know that most electric cars are more energy efficient than their gasoline counterparts, but just how do you improve on the limited range most electric cars have?
For some automakers like BMW, the answer lies in making an electric car as lightweight as possible. For others, the answer is to make the battery pack as large as possible.
But for Japanese startup electric car firm SIM-Drive Corp., the answer lay in redesigning the humble automobile, making it as aerodynamic as possible.
The result?
The SIM-LEI, a bizarre-looking electric car powered by four, 65 kilowatt in-wheel motors which SIM-Drive Corp. plans to put into production in the next two years.
While we’ve seen the car before, yesterday the team responsible for the ultra-efficient car released a YouTube video detailing just why the unusual car looks the way it does.
And believe us, the SIM-LEI is unusual. Achieving a drag coefficient equivalent to the much-missed General Motors EV1 from 1996, the SIM-LEI can travel up to 186 miles on a battery pack barely bigger than the one found in the 2012 Nissan Leaf.
It can also seat four, can carry a large amount of luggage, and accelerates from 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds.
Looking something like a cross between a Toyota Prius and the Jetson’s car, the SIM-LEI isn’t pretty. With a long hood, tall body, fish-like rear and protruding side-impact beams on the outside of the vehicle, you could say it is only something its mother could love.
Explaining the design features in great detail from the shape of the rear-view mirrors to the car’s unusual posterior, the 3 minute video explains why the SIM-LEI looks the way it does.
And while we don’t think most car buyers will want to drive down the street in a SIM-LEI just yet, we can’t help but think if we’re looking at the car design of the future.
What do you think? Let us know in the Comments below.
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