Zero Race, an 80-day around-the-world race without tailpipe emissions. As cool as the race may be, it’s the vehicles running in it that fascinate us. We plan to catch up with all of the teams and run down their vehicles. First up is the Zerotracer.

“When you are driving the Zerotracer, it feels like you are flying half a meter above the ground,” said Tobias Wülser of the Swiss design firm Designwerk and one of the guys who designed and engineered the vehicle. “You forget that you are in a fully enclosed motorcycle. The vehicle is fast and has great acceleration.”

Zerotracer is a bona fide EV with a 400 volt, 21 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery pack. It’s good for 217 miles and reportedly recharges in less than two hours. Although the team obviously has to charge up along the way, it is offsetting and CO2 emissions generated by the local power plant by using solar power at Oerlikon Solar’s headquarters.

Not every hour of the Zero Race is spent behind the wheel, obviously. The race is as much about PR as it is about competition. Wülser says the team wakes up around 6 a.m. each day and drives 120 miles or so before showing off the car and answering questions at the first scheduled stop of the day. Yesterday, for example, they did a photo op with a few politicians in Berlin.

“We tend to set up all the vehicles in a centralized location in each city so that people get the opportunity to see the Zerotracer and other vehicles, take photos, ask us questions and learn more about zero emissions transportation,” Wülser said. After another 120 or so miles on the road, the teams rest and the cars recharge — unless, of course a team member is already well-rested after catching forty winks in the Zerotracer’s comfy backseat.

“The passenger sitting in the back seat can stretch his legs out, and also take a nap comfortably, which we do often,” Wülser said. “There is also luggage space where the driver and passenger can store items, and we currently keep our kits back there. It’s a smooth ride, and the Zerotracer design makes it aerodynamic.”

Wülser says reaction to the EV has been positive throughout Europe, and the team is looking forward to showcasing it in Russia and China.

“The Zerotracer is like a magnet,” he said. “People are very amused by the vehicle, especially with the design and how it looks. When we stop at different cities along the race route, people ask us many questions and we provide information on the Zerotracer’s speed, acceleration and other technical details to the car. Average folks are the ones that are looking at it.”

This kind of vehicle isn’t entirely unheard of. The Peraves MonoTracer similarly blurs the line between car and motorcycle, but it uses a BMW motorcycle engine instead of an electric motor. Nissan came up with a similar concept called the Land Gider; although the funky EV has four wheels, it leans like a motorcycle.

Should anyone decide they want a Zerotracer of his or her own, they may have the chance next year provided they have the funds.

“Right now, the Zerotracer is the only one of its kind, but it is a vehicle that the daily driver can potentially use,” Wülser said. “Our idea is to produce the Zerotracer for mass consumption starting next year.”

According to Wülser, the vehicle will be tuned for a broader audience and will retail for between 60,000 and 80,000 euros — around $76,000 to $102,000 at current exchange rates.

Photos: Oerlikon Solar Racing Team

See Also:

• What It’s Like Going 307.7 MPH in an EV
• MonoTracer Blurs the Line Between Motorcycle And Car
• Nissan’s Wild Land Glider EV May Yet Fly
• VW Redefines ‘Car’ With 170-MPG Diesel Hybrid

Authors: Keith Barry

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