2/21/2015 CityElWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl 1/3

1992MiniEl'Basic'sideview

CityElFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheCityElisa3wheellightweightelectriccarcurrentlymadeinGermanybyCitycomGmbH.

Contents

1History2Technicalspecifications3Seealso4References5Externallinks

History

TheCityElwasoriginallydevelopedastheMiniElbyDanishcompanyElTransA/SinRandersandwasfirstbroughtontothemarketbythemin1987.AfterElTransA/Shadtogiveupproductionin1988andtwosubsequentmanufacturers(Eltrans1A/Sin1991andEltrans89A/Sin1995),CitycomDenmarkA/S,aGermaninvestor,tookoverandmovedthecompanytoAub.In2009thecompanywasrenamedSmilesAG,whenitstartedtosellelectricvehiclesofotherbrandsbesidestheirownbutthreeyearslaterSmilesexperiencedfinancialdifficultiesandproductionoftheCityElrestartedwithCityComGmbH.

Thevehicleisforoneperson,seatedcentrally.Ratherthanconventionaldoors,thewholetophalfofthevehiclehingesupwardsongasstrutsallowingaccesstothecockpit.Anoptionalchildseatallowsthecartocarryachild(upto30kg),sittingbehindthefrontseatontheenginecompartment,facingbackwards.Thedriveroperatescarlikecontrols(steeringwheel,brakeandthrottlepedals)althoughthevehicleisclassedasanelectricmotorcycleinsomecountries.

Therehavebeenthreebodystylessinceproductionstarted.The'Basic'versionhasacompletelysolidroof.Someversionshaveplexiglasssidewindows.TheConvertiblewasafullyopenversionnolongermadebyCityCom.Initsplacethe'Targa'versionwasconstructed,witharemovablecentresofttopbutsolidrearwindows.InAmericatheCityElwassoldwithadifferentroof,madeoutoffibreglass.[1]ThisroofisslightlydifferentfromthefactorybuiltCityElroof.

Technicalspecifications

Theolderversionhada36volt,2.5kWmotorwiththree80Ahleadacidbatteries,a40km/h(25mph)(Series1)to55km/h(34mph)(Series2andup)topspeedandarangeof60to70km(37to43mi)(Series1)or40to50km(25to31mi)(Series2).TheconsumptionfromSeries2andupwas7to9kWh/100km.ThenewversionFactFourhasfourleadacidbatteries,amuchbetter4kWelectricmotorthatprovidesa63km/h(39mph)topspeedand70to90km(43to56mi)range.Theconsumptionis3.5to5kWh/100km.WhentheFactFourwasintroduced,Smiliesstartedtoofferalithiumionbatteryasan

2/21/2015 CityElWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl 2/3

1997CityEl'Targa'(or'fun')

43V100AHlithiumionupgradedCityEl

alternative,givingthevehiclearangeofmorethan120km(75mi).TheCityElisregularlymodifiedbyenthusiastsanditiscommontoseeCityElspoweredbyalternativebatteries,suchasthenickelcadmiumbatteryoradifferentlithiumionbattery.TheimprovedperformanceandrangegiventotheCityElbyusingsuchbatteriesmakethemaviabletowncommutingvehiclewithenoughaccelerationtokeepupwithcitytraffic.

ACityElweighs280kg(620lb),andthefrontendcanbeliftedquiteeasily.WhenthebatteriesareremoveditispossibleforthreepeopletoliftaCityElofftheground.WhenaCityElisretrofittedwith100AHThunderskylithiumionbatteries,thecarbecomesapproximately70kg(150lb)lighter,bringingtheweightoftheCityElwellunderthatofsomemotorbikes.Atthispointthedriverhastotakeextremecaredrivingat50km/h(31mph)ormoreinmoderatecrosswindstopreventtheCityElfrombeingblownabout.

Seealso

Cyclecar

References

1. ^1993CityComCityEl(http://www.evalbum.com/1160)atavalbum.com

HansUlrichvonMende,MatthiasDietz&BenediktTaschen(Sep1994),Kleinwagen,SmallCars,PetitesVoitures,Taschen.ISBN3822889105CoverageonCityEl

(http://www3.ndr.de/ndrtv_pages_std/0,3147,OID1601902,00.html)intheTVshow"Das!mobil",July27,2005,onGermanTVchannelNDRFernsehenCoverageinGermanmagazineSolarmobil(http://www.solarmobil.de/zeitschrift/),issues55/56,57,and59.ISSN0941102X

Externallinks

Germanhomepageoftheproducer(http://www.cityel.de/)Frenchhomepageoftheimporter(http://www.cityel.fr/)Danishhomepageoftheimporter(http://www.cityel.dk/)Service/Dealerhomepage(http://www.elektromobilcenter.com/)(German)Service/DealerHomepage(http://www.greendrive.dk/)(Danish)

2/21/2015 CityElWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl 3/3

CityElandFactFour(http://car.pege.org/type/cityel.htm)BritishCityEldriverwhousesherCityElasdailytransport(http://www.aminorjourney.com/)BatteryVehicleSocietywithactiveCityElforum(http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk/)GermanforumforCityElowners(http://www.elweb.info/)anditswiki(http://www.elweb.info/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=cityel)YahooEnglishLanguagegroupforCityElandMiniElowners(http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/MinielCityel/)Elektromobil(http://www.elektromobil.com/),GermanlanguagesiteforCityELandotherelectricvehiclesDutchsitewithlotsofinformationabouttheCityEL(http://www.cityel.eu/)EcoCarForum(http://www.ecocarforum.com/),includesforumforecofriendlycarsincludingtheCityELEllert.info(http://ellert.info/),Danishsite,withlotsofinformationabouttheCityELandMiniel]

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Categories: Threewheeledmotorvehicles Electriccars MotorvehiclemanufacturersofDenmarkMotorvehiclemanufacturersofGermany

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