Tag Archives: Arc Vector

Goodwood, Industry News, Latest News, Manufacturers

Arc Vector to Make its Global Dynamic Debut at Goodwood

The £90,000 zero-emission café racer Arc Vector will spin its wheels for the first time in public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 4-7 July, tearing up the famous hillclimb course alongside storied superbikes and motorsport icons.
Undoubtedly one of the two-wheel stars of this year’s Festival, the Arc Vector is being readied for production next summer and the bike that’ll be seen flat-out on the Duke of Richmond’s driveway is the final prototype. In addition, Arc Vehicle’s on-site sales boutique will feature a VR-enabled Vector, and a third prototype is being hosted for all to see alongside the Michelin Supercar Paddock.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrates velocity in all its forms, not least when it comes to adrenalin-forged innovation. Designed and built in Britain, the Arc Vector is the world’s most advanced electric motorcycle. Nothing short of revolutionary, it features an ingenious battery-module carbon monocoque and, worn by the rider, a connected Heads-Up display helmet and bespoke jacket with haptic motors that makes the riding experience safer and more exhilarating.
As well as demonstrating the thrust of its 399-volt electric motor – which provides a power-to-weight ratio of 650bhp per tonne – Goodwood House’s 1.16-mile course will highlight the Vector’s handling and manoeuvrability; its unique steeply-raked hub-centre steering enables fast changes of direction and stability at high-speed.
Plot 5, next to the Thakeham Family Area and behind the Startline Grandstand, is where visitors can experience it for themselves, by straddling the Vector and donning Virtual Reality goggles. The fighter jet-inspired Zenith helmet and Origin sensory body armour will make its public debut, too, and there will also be a digital bike configurator where guests can spec their very own electric dream.
The bike will race up the hill twice on each day of the event, and Arc founder and CEO Mark Truman will undertake most of the riding duties. “Goodwood is the ideal place for us to show the Vector to the people for the first time in anger,” says Mark. “We’ve been testing behind the scenes and now the bike is emerging from the shadows. It is the most amazing thing both to ride and behold. Up to 150,000 are expected at the Festival of Speed, and I hope they all get a chance to see what we’ve been working on; a unique all-electric neo café racer with all sorts of kit never before seen. Goodwood is perfect because it’s a champion of new technology and a best of British event of which we very much hope to be at the forefront. It feels really great to get the chance to ride something so new and advanced on such a prestigious piece of tarmac. It also gives us the opportunity to show enthusiasts what the bike is about, let them experience this sensory world on our stand, and help them understand the philosophy and ambition behind what we believe is a truly game-changing electric motorcycle.”






Latest News Gallery
[g-slider gid=”52691″ width=”100%” height=”65%”]


[vc_row][vc_column][td_block_instagram instagram_id=”gridgirls” instagram_images_per_row=”4″ instagram_number_of_rows=”1″ tdc_css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row]

You may also like

http://motorcycleindustry.co.uk/wordpress/kawasaki-to-unveil-all%e2%80%91new-models-for-first-time-in-uk-at-2018-motorcycle-live/
http://motorcycleindustry.co.uk/wordpress/death-of-daley-mathison-overshadows-tt-wins-for-hickman-birchall-brothers-and-johnston/
http://motorcycleindustry.co.uk/wordpress/home-hero-bautista-takes-ninth-consecutive-victory-in-race-2-at-motorland-aragon/
http://motorcycleindustry.co.uk/wordpress/tony-arbolino-ahead-as-0-024-splits-the-top-four/
http://motorcycleindustry.co.uk/wordpress/binder-wins-an-island-battle-against-mir-bagnaia-and-oliveira-outside-the-top-ten/

Electric Motorcycles

Arc Vector – The Revolution Is Coming

The Arc Vector, the world’s most advanced electric motorcycle, is right on schedule and its breathtaking innovations are being eagerly refined. Announced at last November’s EICMA show in Milan, the £90,000 neo-café racer will enter full production at the end of 2020 with 399 units to be built to order in the first 18 months. This revolutionary motorcycle boasts Human Interface Technology, state-of-the-art carbon monocoque and swing arm, ground-breaking hub-centre steering, power-dense battery cells, bespoke brakes and suspension, and race-inspired wheels.

At the centre of the Vector is its ingenious battery-module carbon monocoque. Simplicity is key to its design and, countering the weight of the battery pack, the watchword is lightness. The motor and batteries are structurally integral to the monocoque, making the chassis incredibly stiff.

Arc is one of a tiny number of OEMs to develop its own carbon swing arm, in collaboration with MotoGP manufacturers Riba, which enables lateral flex for cornering stability, grip and agility. The liberal use of carbon, and other exotic materials such as quality alloys, exposed copper detailing and aircraft-grade aluminium, helps to keep the machine’s total dry weight down to 220kg.

Founder & CEO Mark Truman, the visionary engineer behind Arc, has undertaken the lion’s share of track testing himself at circuits and airfields around the Midlands, fettling the finer points of the Vector’s geometry and handling. A notable design direction has been hub-centre steering. This is characterised by the steering pivot points being inside the hub of the wheel, rather than above the wheel in the headstock as in a traditional layout. Truman explains the advantages: “The system we’ve developed gives the bike low-speed control. There are a handful of manufacturers who’ve implemented hub-centre steering in the past, but they did so with an anti-dive system. Riders want the bike to dive under braking, that’s what we’re used to. For the Vector, we’ve created a system that has all the benefits of HCS but which feels like a set of forks. The advantage is stiffness which allows for a steep rake angle and a chassis that enables fast changes of direction with stability at high-speed. What we’ve devised is the best of both worlds with none of the negatives.”

The philosophy when it comes to handling is to balance performance with control. It’s an agile motorcycle with plenty of power, but it’s designed to be user friendly and fun to ride both in town and on the open road. It’s a bike designed for life more than racing.

Another rarity that Mark’s team has embraced is the belt drive, which guarantees low weight and low maintenance. It’s also quieter and smoother than a chain drive, and owners will never get oily hands.

Arc’s technical partners represent the best of breed. The Vector’s brake discs are Brembo and the calipers are their Stylemas, but bespoke in black oxide. The Ohlins suspension is entirely customisable, and the unique BST wheels are as light and strong as a pro race bike’s. Anti-lock brakes have been provided by Continental, Pirelli have made the tyres, the battery package is by Delta Motorsport. Arc is developing its own bespoke motor which saves on packaging space whilst being light and very powerful. All the ECUs are automotive-grade. The packaging of these components is masterful, enabling the lowest possible centre of gravity, minimal weight, sufficient cooling and a short, nimble wheelbase.

In addition to handling, a lot of development has been done on the powertrain with battery cell suppliers Samsung and on the dyno and the track in order to coax out every last drop of performance. The cutting-edge Samsung 21-700 batteries, of which the Vector packs a vast 960, are some of the most energy dense and reliable cells on the planet and the Arc Vector is the first motorcycle to use them. “Right now, you can’t actually buy them,” explains Arc’s Head of Electrical Engineering, Robin Boyd. “Samsung are prototyping and developing them, and have partnered with Arc Vehicle as part of this process. The battery cells rank as some of the most powerful of their kind and have the most longevity. With 960, the Vector has more battery cells and, in turn, power than any other electric motorcycle. A lot more. With these upgraded cells, we are extremely confident in meeting our performance and range targets.”

With a 399-volt electric motor producing 133bhp and a weight of 220kg, the Arc Vector will have the best power-to-weight ratio of any electric two-wheeler – 650bhp per tonne. Combined range will be around 270 miles. Zero to 60mph will arrive in three seconds and the top speed will be 125mph. No clutch, no gears, just you and the open road. Massive torque, traction control, ABS brakes, variable dynamic modes and ingenious Heads-Up Display and haptic alert systems make the Vector riding experience unique, safe and utterly euphoric.

Having prototyped the Vector in Coventry, Arc is targeting expansion to a 65,000 square feet HQ in St Athan, South Wales, in 2020.

Electric Motorcycles, Manufacturers

Arc Vector – A Neo Cafe Racer In Search Of Fresh Terrain And New Frontiers

Newly announced motorcycle maker Arc has launched its first model, the Vector, at Milan’s EICMA Motorcycle show today; a machine which tears up convention, just as it tears up the tarmac. The Arc Vector is the most advanced electric motorcycle ever brought to market, utilising exotic materials, thoroughbred componentry and cutting-edge architecture, wrapped in a futuristic body with post-modern nods to café racers past.

Human Machine Interface (HMI) has been taken to a new level, comprising an intelligent rider jacket packed with haptic sensory technology and a Heads-Up Display (HUD) helmet inspired by those of fighter pilots, giving the user important information and enhancing the freedom and wellbeing of their riding experience.

As big on soul as it is technology, the hand-built Vector has a lightweight carbon-composite structure and ingeniously elegant battery-module monocoque, which is as clean and efficient as it is beautiful to behold. Its featherweight solves one of the headaches normally attributed to brick battery EVs, and it has MotoGP levels of stiffness so that there’s zero compromise on ride. Vector utilises carbon swingarms front and rear, custom-made Ohlins dampers for telepathic handling and feedback, and meaty Brembo brakes on anorexic BST wheels. The entire package tips the scales at 220kg, which is almost 60kg lighter than comparable machines. Vector has the best power-to-weight ratio of any electric motorcycle of its class by a considerable margin.

In raw pace, Vector rivals fossil-fuelled superbikes, sprinting from standstill to 60mph in 3.1 seconds and carrying on to 120mph.

The battery cells are the absolute cutting-edge. Their packaging has been developed to be completely modular, flexible, and legacy-free, maximised for simplicity, space and mass- reduction. The power cell produces 399 units of voltage, giving a realistic range of about 200 miles in urban use and 120 miles on the highway. That’s about 30% more than any comparable EV. Arc will install a personal electric charger at the owner’s desired premises. Away from home, the Vector can be charged in 45 minutes at a quick charge point or service station.

The key to the bike is the Zenith helmet, which has been designed in collaboration with Hedon. Its connected HUD projects speedo, sat-nav and ancillary graphics onto the rider’s visor so they can keep their eyes affixed to the road, Iron Man-style. A live rear-view camera is encased in the calfskin-trimmed helmet, giving the user the ability to see what’s behind them.

The bespoke jacket, Origin, represents a game-changing advance in intelligent technology, making motorcycling even more immersive. HMI has been applied to the armoured ride-wear by packing the jacket with audio-type haptic amplifiers – like a smart phone’s vibration notifications, but a lot more advanced. These may vibrate to alert of a potential hazard, provide dynamic performance-based feedback, or enhance the senses when on a stimulating ride.

The Origin jacket, which is tailored in collaboration with style gurus Knox, has three settings. Urban Mode focuses on safety, alerting the rider to dangers such as vehicles in their blind spot with a polite tap on the shoulder. Sports Mode gives the rider feedback on the bike’s dynamic position and parameters by taking G-Force related data from the Vector’s carefully nuanced sensors and providing a graduated level of feedback. This tells the rider how close to the limit of the motorcycle’s capabilities the rider is. For example, the harder you brake the more feedback you receive. Euphoric Mode lets you play music through the haptics as you ride and simulates the bass through the jacket’s amplifiers, making your hairs stand on end. It communicates with the Vector bike and the Zenith helmet wirelessly, emboldening freedom by enhancing the senses.

Recognising the Vector’s ingenuity and enormous potential, financial backing has been obtained from a number of blue-chip beneficiaries, including Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital fund InMotion Ventures, Mercia Fund Managers and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

The Arc Vector, which includes the custom-made Zenith and Origin ride-wear, is priced at £90,000. Production is targeting 399 motorcycles in year one, the same figure as the batteries’ total voltage.

Mark Truman, Founder and CEO, Arc Vehicle Ltd: “We felt that there was more one could get out of motorcycling which no one was tapping into. This is about using technology to strip back the experience of riding a bike, through the use of haptics and HUD. The helmet and jacket work in tandem with the Vector to remove distractions and emphasise the joy of riding.”

“With Vector, we’ve set out to build the best performance electric motorcycle. With electric vehicles in general, the powertrain weighs a lot. This really can’t be avoided if you want capacity, distance and performance. So, it was about stripping everything back and using a lot of exotic, lightweight materials, such as carbon-fibre. The chassis and battery module had to be one, and because of this approach we’ve been able to reduce the weight as much as possible to achieve the performance we wanted. The design brief was; if the term ‘cafe racer’ was going to be coined in ten years’ time, what would that look like?”

“Arc Vector satisfies those of us who are rarely satisfied, who are always looking for a different road, a different view. We understand the need to be different, to be better, and challenge the norm.”

Sebastian Peck, Managing Director, InMotion Ventures: “For Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital fund, this is about being a technology leader in a disruptive environment. Our mission is to develop an expanded footprint for Jaguar Land Rover in the brave new world of premium mobility. We understand the power of emotional connection and creating really desirable objects, so we see natural synergy with Arc. The Vector is an incredible development in the next generation of motorcycle travel.”

Based in Coventry, in the centre of the UK’s automotive high-tech industry, Arc is on a mission to explore Earth in state-of-the-art style, combined with a promise to protect it. Vector is a catalyst; a transformative vehicle that will challenge the rider’s way of seeing and thinking, and one that shapes the world around it.

In addition to revolutionary tech, Arc promises a sales and ownership experience as individual, luxurious and highly-detailed as the Vector machine itself.