EDAG, worldwide provider of engineering services, will be presenting the world premiere of its vision of an environment-friendly, future-orientated vehicle for everyday and leisure use at this year's International Motor Show in Geneva. For the body concept of the “Light Car - Open Source”, EDAG has broken new ground, and for the first time ever in automotive engineering, used ASA.TEC's innovative basalt fibre, a lightweight, stable and - above all - 100% recyclable material. Propulsion is taken care of by intelligent, electric drive systems in the wheels, which not only feature a high degree of efficiency to get the power of the lithium-ion batteries onto the road, but will also provide considerably greater creative scope for the vehicle package. In addition, with its innovative light concept, the "Light Car - Open Source" will be one of the first vehicles to utilise (O)LED technology as an individually adaptable design and communication element.
It's hard to know where to start: The use of (O)LED technology as both driver-configurable exterior lighting units and as a television-screen-like safety feature that alerts those behind of road conditions; its 100 percent recyclable basalt fiber chassis (said to be at once lighter and cheaper than carbon-fiber or aluminum); or the fact that this is an open-source effort, with EDAG taking the lead but freely opening up the car's technologies to outside developers for improvement and modification.
The other star of the EDAG Light Car's materials list is a new basalt fiber composite, here applied for the first time in the automotive realm. Billed as a lightweight, strong and 100% recyclable building material, the basalt fiber promises to help make the Light Car light enough yet strong enough to achieve its task as an all-electric commuter car. EDAG envisions the Light Car with an all-electric drivetrain good for up to 93mi (150km) per charge.
Because many of the materials and technologies included in the Light Car concept are still in their very earliest stages, EDAG sees the project as one that is inherently open source - meaning a collaborative, contributive, community project. It hopes to approach and be approached by other car companies interested in making the Light Car work, and bringing its features to life.
2009 EDAG Light Car Side view
2009 EDAG Light Car Back
2009 EDAG Light Car
2009 EDAG Light Car Open Source
2009 EDAG Light Car Structure
2009 EDAG Light Car Open Source
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