AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE URBEE TEAM:

April 7, 2013

We’d like to announce to all our supporters, that we’ve started designing a second car.

Over the next few years, we plan to design, build, and demonstrate this all-new car.

We’re calling this next phase of our project :

Here’s what we have in mind:

Those that created the original Urbee, will now create URBEE 2.



We will expand on the technical success of our 1st prototype, …

and integrate Digital Manufacturing throughout the new design.

So, while the original Urbee only had its body 3-D printed,

most of what makes up URBEE 2 will now become 3-D printed, too.

With URBEE 2 , we’ll continue to explore this amazing technology of Additive Manufacturing that is revolutionizing how products are made.

The patented aerodynamic Urbee body (Cd = 0.15) will remain much the same.

However, URBEE 2 will look very much like a production-ready car.

And while the original Urbee’s image was that of a show car, URBEE 2 will communicate affordability and reliability, …

… a sensible car many people would indeed buy and use every day.

As a true test of its usefulness and energy efficiency, we plan to take URBEE 2 on a road trip.

We hope to achieve a world record at the end of this long journey.

We plan to drive URBEE 2 from New York to San Francisco, 2,905 miles that should take 42 hours of driving time averaging 69 miles per hour (according to Google Maps).

The trip follows Interstate 80, passing through 9 major centres :

Our plan is to use the least energy of any practical car.

Our goal is to use 10 U.S. Gallons for the entire trip.

Note:

In metric units, this works out to a 4,676 km journey, at an average speed of 111 km/hour, using 37.85 litres of fuel.

In Imperial units, 10 U.S. Gallons = 8.33 Imperial Gallons.

At this early stage, there are a lot of assumptions in our calculations.

But, our goal for highway cruising at 70 mph is the following mileage :

290 miles per U.S. gallon

or, 348 miles per Imperial gallon

or, 0.81 litres per 100 kilometers

Wow!

That’s good enough to go all the way across the U.S. without filling up!

We are inspired by Charles Lindbergh and his magnificent airplane.

Their epic flight changed how the world viewed aviation.

In driving URBEE 2 coast to coast, we hope to show the world that using as little energy as possible is a practical and viable alternative, compared to always looking for more and more energy.

It is a fact that civilization’s energy consumption continues to rise,

… and that the Carbon in the atmosphere is also rising.

These two global trends are linked, and are extremely alarming to us.

As designers, we feel a responsibility to contribute where we can.

So, we continue to suggest societal alternatives, such as URBEE 2, specifically engineered to provide personal mobility on a global scale, while doing the least damage to the environment.

Created in 2010, the original Urbee 1/6th scale model :

Started in 2013, the preliminary CAD model of URBEE 2 .

We are also inspired by Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson (1872 – 1955).

In May of 1903, Horatio Jackson, his mechanic Sewall K. Crocker, and his dog ‘Bud’, set out from San Francisco, headed for New York City in a Winton car, christened ‘The Vermont’.

‘Horatio’s Drive’ was the first cross-country road trip in a motor car.

The trio completed their journey in 2 months and 9 days.

They used 800 gallons of gasoline to do the trip.

A documentary accurately chronicles their adventure :

The original Winton is displayed in the Smithsonian Museum.

A plaque in Burlington, Vermont commemorates this historic event.

Our plan with URBEE 2 is to follow our record run (NY to SF) with a re-enactment of Horatio’s Drive (SF to NY).

The NY to SF record attempt will showcase URBEE 2’s prowess as an energy-efficient long-distance vehicle.

It will be accomplished virtually non-stop, on I-80W.

The journey should take under 2 days.

Drivers during the record attempt will be Cody Kor and Tyler Kor.

Also along for the entire ride will be their dog, ‘Cupid’.

Re-enacting Horatio’s Drive will showcase, within cities on route, URBEE 2’s prowess as an efficient runabout city-car.

SF to NY will precisely follow Horatio’s historic route, stopping along the way to demonstrate URBEE 2 as a city car.

Local media will be invited to every planned stop along the way.

The return journey that begins in SF will take 2 months to reach NY.

It will finally end in Horatio’s hometown of Burlington, Vermont :

Consider the difference in technology between 1903 and today.

Compare Horatio’s Drive alongside our goal for URBEE 2 (below).

Both transport 2 people and a dog, from coast to coast, in the USA :

Producer, Doug Howe, owner of Greenwich Productions, created the first Urbee documentary (poster shown below).



The DVD or download will be available soon through our website.

Doug will be following our R&D program for the next several years, as his company continues to document the entire URBEE 2 story.

This project is the right thing to do.

Alongside Stratasys, we’re committed and we’ve started.

‘Just watch us now!’

(Horatio used a similar expression throughout his pioneering road trip across America)

“URBEE 2,

San Francisco to New York,

two people and a dog,

10 Gallons of fuel,

just by hitting Print.”

(Laura Betker, Simply Science, KARE 11, Minneapolis, summarizing the project)

URBEE 2’s record run across America (NY to SF), and re-enactment of Horatio’s Drive (SF to NY), is planned to occur in 2 years. (Summer, 2015)

We are considering donating URBEE 2 to the Smithsonian after the car has completed its long journey (NY to SF to NY).

While on display in the Smithsonian, URBEE 2 would continue to educate the visiting public about sustainable, affordable cars specifically designed to use the least energy for movement.

So, that’s ‘the plan’.

Some concluding remarks :

With contagious enthusiasm from our team members and sponsors,

this project continues to attract some of the best talent in the world.

With adequate financial resources in place,

we believe we could design URBEE 2, 100% in CAD, within 1 year.

We then would need another year to build and test the new car.

Via this progression, we would be ready for a record run in May, 2015.

Since 2010, the media from around the world

continues to want to follow this project’s progess.

We believe they will remain interested in our updates,

especially as we drive URBEE 2 across America,

on hardly any fuel at all.

Thanks for your continued support.

Jim Kor, P.Eng., President

on behalf of the Urbee Team

the company developing Urbee

Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA

WWW . URBEE . NET

“Just watch us now!”

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