General Motors has unveiled its vision of the future. Called the EV-N Concept, the two-seater fully electric concept has been developed by GM alongside its Chinese business partner SAIC, and made its public debut today in Shanghai.
The ‘Electric Networked-Vehicle’ is designed as an ideal solution for urban mobility and seats two passenger side-by-side in an upright position. Propulsion comes from two electric motors, one in each wheel, producing 440Nm of torque for brisk acceleration, although the top speed is just 25mph and the maximum range 25 miles.
GM has worked closely with Segway to give the EV-N the ability to self-stabilise on two wheels, much like the Segway scooter. This means the vehicle can turn within its own footprint, while there’s space for two passengers plus luggage in a vehicle that takes up roughly a third of the road space of a conventional vehicle.
By combining GPS with vehicle-to-vehicle communications and distance-sensing technologies, the EV-N can be driven manually or entirely completely autonomously – leaving you free to get on with work or read the paper while it shuttles you to your destination. It can also communicate with other EV-Ns to get real time traffic information and ensure you’re always on the fastest route.
Using vehicle-based sensor and camera systems, EV-N can “sense” what’s around it, allowing the vehicle to react quickly to obstacles or changes in driving conditions. GM claims this makes it virtually uncrashable – allowing the bodywork to be built from lightweight carbon-fibre and plastic and keeping the weight below 500kg.
Three different versions of the EV-N were unveiled in Shaghai although they share almost identical dimensions – the blue Xiao (Laugh) created at the GM studio in Australia, the red Jiao (Pride) penned at GM’s European studio in Germany and the grey Miao (Magic) born out of the GM Advanced Design Studio in California.
