Edison 2’s VLC 4.0 redefines vehicle
architecture
Liver Kuttner got into the alternative car
business to make money. Or, more accurately, he got into it to win money. In
2010, the $5 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize was up for grabs
and Kuttnerm a Charlottesville, Va., real estate developer and former IMSA/ALMS
racer, won it with his single-cylinder-engine Very Light Car.
Edison
2’s VLC 4.0 redefines vehicle architecture
In so doing, he transformed his race team
into a company called Edison 2 and embarked on developing a new architecture
with light weight as its key driver. From lightness and its key driver. From
lightness and goof aero, Kuttner reasons, come energy and
manufacturing-resources efficiency, and the accessibility of low cost.
“If you want to build a greener future, you
must make it affordable”, he explains.
Drive
for the VLC 4.0 comes from a 45-kW electric motor, but the rear/mid-engine
design is agnostic, happily accepting internal combustion or hybrid powertrains
The quest led Edison 2 to build an
electrically powered Very Light Car (VLC) in 2011. The four-seat streamliner
achieved a record 245 mpg-e in the five-cycle EPA test. While the X Prize
winner and its successor demonstrated remarkable efficiencies, Kuttner wanted
to build something of greater significance.
The VLC 4.0 is the result. It replaces the
race car-like tube-frame chassis of earlier VLCs with an aluminum sheet-metal
center section similar to an Indy-Car tub. The section is enclosed by two
sophisticated bulkhead castings to which the engine cradle subassembly and a
novel suspension are mounted. The bulkheads allows flexibility for what’s in
between, a variety of possible passenger compartments. The chassis weighs just
989 pounds without resorting to exotic materials.
It rides on Edison 2’s patented “in-wheel”
suspension, the most innovative (and likely most commercially attractive)
aspect of the project. The arrangement consists of front and rear crossbeams
attached to each bulkhead. The beams carry the in-wheel suspension and absorb
its loads.
Entirely within 17-inch wheels are small,
specially fabricated control arms, coil-over shocks/springs and a hub/spindle
assembly.
Up
front, the in-wheel suspension mounts to the beam through a carrier that
anchors both the upper shock mount and a bearing that allows a large carrier to
swivel
Up front, the in-wheel suspension mounts to
the beam through a carrier that anchors both the upper shock mount and a
bearing that allows a large carrier to swivel. Out back, in-wheel components
mount to the beam via short trailing arms. Driveshafts couple to a cogged-belt
system within the hub assembly. Eliminating conventional strut towers confers
packaging benefits. Kuttner has launched a new company, Edison 4, specifically
to market the unique suspension.
Drive for the VLC 4.0 comes from a 45-kW
electric motor, but the rear/mid-engine design is agnostic, happily accepting
internal combustion or hybrid powertrains. Without a body, the entire package
comes in at 1,089 pounds. The forthcoming body will be another streamliner with
outboard wheel fairings.
We were the first to drive the VLC 4.0
outside the company. The feel is something between a traditionally suspended
full chassis and a go-kart. Watching the beam move vertically in relation to
the in-wheel suspension is fascinating. There’s little body roll, but in hard
cornering on rough pavement the chassis tended to under steer mildly then skip
with noticeable bump steer. Narrower tires and revised springs will increase
compliance for the street. Inside, basic controls are no problem, but the
narrow rear seat and high floor are.
These are problems an automaker can sort
out. That’s what Edison 2 is aiming for. Kuttner says he already has interest
and limited funding from a couple companies. He calls the VLC architecture a
“new operating system”. We may see bits of it in entry-level cars of the
future.
Without
a body, the entire package comes in at 1,089 pounds. The forthcoming body will
be another streamliner with outboard wheel fairings.
