Tesla Cybertruck: A Riot of Tough & Tech
In the galaxy of sleek and sophisticated automobiles, enter the Tesla Cybertruck, a vehicular UFO that’s challenging every preconceived notion concerning trucks and cars, where steel meets sci-fi, and the future of motoring has a stainless-steel exoskeleton.
No paint? No problem! The Cybertruck’s ultra-hard stainless-steel exoskeleton is practically impervious to dents, dings, or that rogue shopping cart in the parking lot. It’s also bullet proof. It’s like driving a tank, only more stylish, and without the camouflage.
Now, let’s talk about windows. Not dressed in your ordinary, run-of-the-mill glass, this big brute comes draped in armoured glass. A baseball thrown at 112 km/h? Child’s play. Class 4 hail? May as well be rain. Inside, you’ll enjoy the effects of acoustic glass, making the cabin quieter than outer space. SpaceX, meet Cybertruck.
Need to haul something? How about a load equivalent to the weight of an African elephant? Boasting a 1,134 kg payload and a towing capacity of 4,990 kg, you can practically tow a spaceship. And the bed? It’s super-tough and doesn’t need a liner, but comes with one nevertheless.
Storage, you say? The Cybertruck’s got it in bucket loads. A 6’x4’ bed with an automatically retractable vault bed cover, a front trunk, and a hidden gear locker for a total of 1,897 litres of lockable storage. It’s like a Swiss army knife on wheels, only it doesn’t have a corkscrew; but it does have an optional light bar (mounted above the massive windscreen), illuminating your path with visibility of up to 480 metres. Who needs a spotlight when you have a Cybertruck!
The Cybertruck doesn’t just flex its brute muscles; it’s got the brains too. Want to drive 547 km on a single charge? No range anxiety here. Need to power up tools or charge another EV? It’s fitted out with integrated 120v and 240v bed and cabin outlets. Facing a grid outage? No problem. The Cybertruck can provide up to 11.5 kW of power to your home. It’s not just a truck; it’s a portable power station – perhaps the answer to ESKOM’s woes, except that the Cybertruck is unlikely to ever reach South African shores.
Equipped with an electronically adaptive air suspension that screams, “Bring it on!”, and with 305 mm of suspension travel and 432 mm of clearance, it can practically perform the moonwalk on rough terrain. Of course, most owners will likely use the Cybertruck only to navigate the urban jungle in true cyber-adventurer style.
And let’s not forget about the speed demons. Beast mode activated! Accelerate from 0-100 km/h in a mere 2.7 seconds. That’s faster than deciding who gets the last slice of pizza, not to mention leaving a stray Porsche or Ferrari in its wake.
Steer-by-wire and rear steering endows this beast with the agility of a sports car, with a turning radius that is sure to leave any sedan green with envy.
Inside, it’s not just a truck; it’s an entertainment lounge. Recording studio sound, wireless charging, and Tesla’s “Bioweapon Defense Mode”, with a hospital-grade HEPA filter, hails the Cybertruck as the James Bond of all trucks. Fast-charge your phone, laptop or tools from the front seat, back seat or bed with wireless charging, 65 W usb-c and 120 V / 240 V outlets. Plenty of room for five adults? Check. Expansive cabin views through an all-glass roof? Double-check.
In the ever-evolving saga of automotive innovation, the Cybertruck has crashed the party like a chrome-plated superhero. It’s not just a truck; it’s a glimpse into the future – where tough meets tech, and the Earth, or any other planet, becomes your playground. Welcome to the era of Cyber-mania!
Reinventing the Wheel: Hyundai and Kia Unveil ‘Uni Wheel’
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation recently unveiled the groundbreaking ‘Uni Wheel’ as an integral part of their Universal Wheel Drive System for their next generation electric vehicles. This innovative wheel drive system ingeniously relocates the primary drive components to the wheel hub, thereby creating additional cabin space as a result of an entirely redesigned drive system.
Conventionally, EVs mimic the internal combustion engine’s method of transmitting power from the motor to the wheels. However, the Uni Wheel Moves will relocate the reduction gear of their EVs to inside the wheel hub, which will house a compact individual electric motor near each wheel. This ingenious design minimises the length of drive shafts, creating a flat-floor configuration that significantly increases interior space.
Uni Wheel’s special planetary gear configuration enables multi-axis movement through a unique pinion gear arrangement, allowing diverse suspension articulation. The system ensures high durability and ride comfort, maintaining efficiency even over challenging terrain. Moreover, Uni Wheel’s high reduction ratio provides substantial torque output, enabling a more compact electric motor with unprecedented torque vectoring for enhanced dynamic performance.
This design opens up new possibilities for interior space utilisation, enabling increased cargo space or innovative seating arrangements. Uni Wheel also optimises battery packaging, thereby paving the way for fully autonomous vehicle layouts.
Not just confined to regular passenger vehicles, Uni Wheel’s flexibility extends to various forms of mobility devices, from wheelchairs and bicycles to delivery robots.
Stellantis and Ample Charge Ahead: A Five-Minute EV Charge Sparks in Madrid
Following the lead of NIO, the Chinese EV manufacturer, Stellantis and Ample have joined forces to establish a network of battery swapping stations using Ample’s Modular Battery Swapping solution, a unique technology capable of delivering a fully charged EV battery in under five minutes.
Scheduled to kick off in Madrid this year, the initial program will incorporate a fleet of 100 Fiat 500e EVs within Stellantis’ Free2move car-sharing service.
Ample’s technology features modular batteries designed as drop-in replacements for existing EV batteries, allowing seamless integration across various Stellantis electric vehicle platforms. The light-weight battery swapping stations can be rapidly deployed in public spaces, providing a scalable infrastructure to meet ever-growing EV demand.
Ample’s subscription-based service for EV customers aims to reduce upfront vehicle costs, provide the latest battery technology, and increase overall EV range and lifespan.
As Stellantis accelerates towards its Dare Forward 2030 plan, targeting a 100% passenger car EV sales mix in Europe and 50% in the United States by 2030, the partnership with Ample offers a novel solution for electric car-sharing.
