Danish premium bicycle maker Biomega has revealed its answer to the sprawling city streets of Singapore, with the unveiling of its very first electric car at the CIEE trade fair in Shanghai.
Dubbed SIN (short for Singapore), the electric concept vehicle will have, according to the company, a 160km range with 20kWh of batteries – an in-built 14kWh battery with an additional 6kWh removeable battery.
Described as an exercise in Danish minimalism, the Biomega team says the car “rejects superfluous styling in favor of low-cost, comfort and sustainability.”
As you might expect from a bicycle company, the EV actually has very little in common with your conventional passenger vehicle, lacking hood and trunk, wheel arches and bumper.
Instead it boasts a windshield that runs the length of the vehicle, with another in the driver’s footwell, and instead of side mirrors has two cameras to guide the driver.
It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie – a trend that is sweeping many carmakers in their efforts to create a car that captures the imagination of a new generation of drivers (think Elon Musks’s latest description of his electric pickup).
Founded in 1998 by Danish designer Jens Martin Skibsted, Biomega has until now been known for its sleek, elegant bikes – including its first e-bike which was released just two years ago.
The SIN is their first four-wheeled vehicle design, and is the result of Argentinian industrial designer Guillermo Calla’s deft hand.
“I’ve always been fascinated by mobility and transportation,” Callau told Wired.
“We want to think about how we can think about mobility and how we can change our mobility in big cities,” says Guillermo Callau.
Designed for city travel, the electric concept vehicle allows more space on roads thanks to its narrow body, while still managing to offer space for four people.
With an incredibly lightweight carbon-fibre body coming in at well under 800kg, the SIN is slated for production somewhere from 2021 – 2023, Biomega says.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.