Students in England Show Off CLEVER Car

By SUEVON LEE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 26, 7:27 PM ET
BATH, England (AP) - It has two seats, three wheels and so far has cost
$2.9 million. Students at the University of Bath in western England, who
on Monday unveiled the prototype of the CLEVER (Compact Low Emission
Vehicle for Urban Transport), hope that it represents a greener future
for transport.

The prototype, a skeletal speedster which had safety netting in place of
body panels, exhibited the general design and technology of the vehicle
rather than its actual, finished appearance.

It has the compactness of a motorcycle but the safety of a car, and
cornering is smoothed by a tilting technology developed by mechanical
engineering students Matt Barker, 29, Ben Drew, 27 and their instructors.

Equipped to handle both city streets and long-distance highway driving,
the vehicle runs on compressed natural gas, is capable of 80 mph speeds.

"The goal was to produce a lower-emission vehicle and to combine the
efficiency of a motorcycle with the comfort and safety of a car," said
Drew, who demonstrated the ease of steering with several laps around the
lot.

The concept vehicle is the fruit of a three-year project funded by the
European Union, drawing on the expertise of German, French and Austrian
organizations_ including BMW — along with the Bath team.

Other partners included the Technische Universitaet Berlin, the Institut
Francais Du Petrole in Vernaison near Lyon, and the Institut Fuer
Verkehrswesen Universitaet Fuer Bodenkultur in Vienna.

The French team developed the 218cc engine, based on the Rotax engine
used in the BMW C1 scooter.

Limiting pollution was a big push for the project, according to the
project's coordinators. And with rising fuel costs a rising concern for
drivers in Europe, the car's use of natural gas emissions is one of its
sterling points, according to the Bath design team.

"As fuel prices go up and up, people will look at how else they can get
around," said Geraint Owen, a lecturer at the university who helped lead
the team project.

Running on compressed natural gas, its fuel consumption is equivalent to
108 miles per gallon.

A commercial version could be a decade away, assuming a manufacturer is
interested, Owen said. He said it would be priced in the micro-car
bracket of around $8,500-$17,000.

"The idea of a narrow vehicle that is light has its significant
advantages," he said. "It's less dangerous than a motorcycle."

The CLEVER car is fun to drive, according to Drew. The Bath team worked
on design, suspension, steering, and transmission for their part of the
collaboration, he said.

"It's been full-time for 40 months," he said of the project, which also
served as his and Barker's dissertations.

"It's quite fun and very stable," he said. "It doesn't feel out of
balance. You steer it like a car."

Matthew Butler, 20, a French and politics major who watched the
demonstration, said fuel economy was a big attraction.

Butler said he pays about $62 every three weeks to fill his 13.2 gallon
tank, at a time when gas is about $6.70 per gallon.

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On the Net:

CLEVER project, http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/en-proj20/index.html