French company to start production of the electric Spider Car

[midian182]

A four-wheel electric vehicle with long arms that work independently will go into production at the end of next month in France. The Swincar E-Spider, dubbed the spider car, is designed to tackle the toughest off-road terrain and the steepest inclines.

The car is the brainchild of French architect Pascal Rambaud, an avid outdoorsman and mountaineering fan, and is being produced by Mecanroc, a company based in the south of France. The manufacturer described the vehicle as a “mechanical spider on wheels.”

Each wheel on the Swincar has its own electric motor (either 1 kW or 1.5 kW) and independent suspension, meaning that each wheel can tilt independently while the driver’s cab stays upright. This system allows the car to tackle hills, rocks, trenches and ditches with ease. The company claims the Swincar can handle inclines of up to 70%.

The aluminum vehicle weighs 330 pounds, can reach a top speed of 24 mph and customers can choose between 2 kWh, 4 kWh, or 6 kWh battery packs. There’s even a version being built for disabled drivers that comes with a joystick instead of a steering wheel. Mecanroc says it’s also working on a two-seater version of the Swincar.

In comparing the Swincar to a quad bike, Mecanroc's head of business and finance, Thierry Jammes, said: "We have a vehicle that is entirely electric, whilst the vast majority of quad bikes have combustion engines -- so the "Swincar" is non-noisy and non-polluting -- and has the ability to cross extreme terrain which means that you can do things with the Swincar that you can't do with other vehicles with normal kinematics.”

So far the majority of orders for the Swincar E-Spider have come from North America, likely due to the popularity of recreational off-road vehicles across the continent. Mecanroc says it is planning to develop variations of the spider car to be used in industries such as defense, civil security, agriculture and farming. The company added that it is particularly interested in using the vehicle to help disabled people get around easier outdoors.

Check out the Swincar E-Spider in the video below.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/61975-french-company-start-production-electric-spider-car.html

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

The manufacturer described the vehicle as a “mechanical spider on wheels.”

As any 1st grader will tell you... Spiders have 8 legs.

This reminds me of the Segway. It'll be a fun toy for tourist groups.

 

[davislane1]

The manufacturer described the vehicle as a “mechanical spider on wheels.”

As any 1st grader will tell you... Spiders have 8 legs.

This reminds me of the Segway. It'll be a fun toy for tourist groups.

And rednecks. That "spider" is only a couple of mounted ARs with drum barrels away from being the ultimate civilian tactical vehicle.

 

[stewi0001]

Looks like fun, now to find out the cost.... *dread*

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

That actually looks pretty good at offroad, and looks to have a surprising amount of grip for such skinny tires. I'd like to see some wider wheels/tires and perhaps a more aggressive camber during handling inclines at angles. Also looks like fun! Wonder how long it can go at near full throttle use.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

And rednecks. That "spider" is only a couple of mounted ARs with drum barrels away from being the ultimate civilian tactical vehicle.

Good call! At the least, they'll probably end up as tricked-out getaway vehicles in a movie about an elaborate heist.

 

[davislane1]

Good call! At the least, they'll probably end up as tricked-out getaway vehicles in a movie about an elaborate heist.

The Alabama Job

 

[cliffordcooley]

I don't think we will be seeing it in the Fast and Furious franchise.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Looks like fun, now to find out the cost.... *dread*

I wanted to say that (but more cynically).

 

[Forebode]

"The aluminum vehicle weighs 330 pounds, can reach a top speed of 24 mph and customers can choose between 2 kWh, 4 kWh, or 6 kWh battery packs."

What does this mean as to how far can you go at what speed? Or how much time it can be used? Or how much extra power it uses when going extreme off-road compared to just a road? Would think its very limited to be battery powered and be off-road. If you run outta gas with an current ATVs, you just get more gas. With this.. you're SOL apparently. They need to add some solar panels or something to at least allow it to charge something.