All-electric 155-mph Superbus road tests begin
By David Arnouts
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend may not have been called prophets, but with the emergence of the Superbus, that could all change.
The Dutch-built six-wheeled lithium-ion-battery-powered car is a “Magic Bus” indeed.
What began in 2004 as just a concept has grown to a full-fledged prototype approved for testing on the roads of the Netherlands this past week, according to Fox News Reports.
At just less than 50 feet long and more than eight feet wide, the bus has aluminum subframes in both front and rear and a variable ride height to clear speed bumps on city streets and to reduce aerodynamic drag when on high-speed runs. The Superbus also has 16 gullwing doors to welcome up to 23 passengers inside.
While the Superbus is still a few years from production, it raises a good question: When was the last time you were excited about riding the bus?
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simpleman1234, if you take time to read the story you will know the bus is almost 50 feet long. It has 16 gull-wing doors. So yes, a 50 ft long vehicle is going to take a lot of room to make a turn, very similar to an 18-wheeler. As far as practicality just why do so many people think electric is far better? Do they not realize that electricity has to be produced to recharge the batteries and most of our electricity is still produced by coal-burning powerplants that belch out pollution. The cost of production of an electric vehicle requires more energy and then at some point you have to figure out how to recycle or dispose of the old batteries as hazardous waste. Too many people have tunnel vision with electric powered cars and don't take the whole equation into consideration.
This is a beautiful attempt to recreate. I think we can all agree that busses need a make over.
This may be over designed a bit, but radical thinking pushes us to create things that otherwise would never have been thought of. We need to do everything in our power to make sure our machines do not damage our environment anymore than they already have. If you ask me this is a step to the right direction.
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