Siemens Corporate Technology supplied the drive systems for the prototypes of two electric cars that are being presented at the Geneva Motor Show from March 5-15. For each of two automotive firms, the Swiss concept car manufacturer Rinspeed and the German company RUF Automobile GmbH, the research team developed an integrated system consisting of a motor/generator, power electronics and an interface with a battery connection. This research is taking place within the framework of an overarching objective, namely, the exploration by Siemens Corporate Technology of the opportunities and challenges associated with a comprehensive concept of electromobility and its value-added chain.

The Electric RUF 911 of Alois Ruf, a manufacturer of high-performance cars based in Pfaffenhausen, contains a preliminary version of the innovative electric drive concept of Siemens Corporate Technology. The prototype has a central motor with a potential capacity of 270 kilowatts (slightly less than 370 hp), a motor torque of 950 Nm and achieves an average range of approximately 200 kilometers. A later version is expected to feature a twin-motor design. Thus equipped, this eRUF will be the first electric car in the world with a bidirectional mains connection, which will allow it to be recharged in about two hours at a 400-volt electrical outlet — without the extra electrical circuitry typically required for recharging — and also permit it to feed energy back into the power grid via the same socket.

The Swiss concept car manufacturer Rinspeed presented its electric car "iChange" even before the Geneva Motor Show. Beneath the hood of this sports car, which can be converted from a one-seater to a sports van by means of a flexible roof, an electric motor rated at 204 hp accelerates the 1.03-meter-high and 4.28-meter-long concept car to up to 220 kilometers per hour. It takes only 4.2 seconds to go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour. The three lithium-ion batteries can be recharged in about three hours at a conventional 230-volt electrical socket.

RN 2009.03.2