Introducing the VentureOne, a revolutionary 3-wheel, tilting, plug-in Hybrid vehicle. This unique 2-passenger flex-fuel Hybrid vehicle will achieve 100 miles per gallon with a top speed of over 100 mph. The VentureOne is a new vehicle design based on the Carver tilting vehicle but substitutes either a hybrid or all electric drivetrain in place of the more conventional internal combustion power in the Carver.


And if that weren’t enough, imagine combining the performance feel of a sports car with the agility of a motorcycle. This is an exhilarating driving experience that can only be compared to flying a jet fighter two feet off the ground.


The VentureOne is a fully enclosed vehicle that is surrounded by a steel “safety cell” and other safety features typically found only in cars—things like side impact beams, driver airbag, rear bumper and engine shield.


While the same height and length as the MINI Cooper, the driver in the VentureOne sits as high off the road as a standard automobile. When combined with its 360° glass canopy effect, the VentureOne not only provides a driver with tremendous road visibility, but adds to a sense of overall driving confidence.


Hybrid versions are projected to attain at least 100 mpg, speeds over 100 mph and 0-60 in 6 seconds or less, with a range of 300 miles. The all electric version will have a speed of 75 mph and 0-60 in 8 seconds with a range of 120 miles.


The VentureOne is a revolutionary new vision in transportation.


The VentureOne weighs approximately 1,200 pounds in prototype form, with an overall width of 48 inches, a length of 11' 8", and a 106 inch wheelbase. The engine is located in the rear of the vehicle at a low height. The passenger compartment and the front wheel tilt when cornering; however, the forces are aligned with the vertical axis of the driver’s body, resulting in the driver being pressed into the seat rather than pushed across it.


Although classified as a motorcycle according to the NHTSA (since it has three wheels), the VentureOne has an enclosed body. The reinforced roll-cage construction in combination with front-and-side-impact protection, and a highly efficient passenger restraint system, give the occupants a level of protection comparable to conventional cars — or statistically, 33 times the safety of a typical motorcycle.


Venture Vehicles plans to initially offer two propulsion packages for the VentureOne: the hybrid E50 and Q100, and all-electric Venture EV mode – with a wide range of accessories available for each.


All three classes will incorporate the patented Dynamic Vehicle Control system, or DVC™, developed by Carver Engineering, which allows the vehicle to tilt up to 45° side-to-side at a rate of 85° per second. All three will also feature ventilated disc brakes and measure 3.5 meters in overall length.


The vehicles’ propulsion system is of a series hybrid design. The system consists of a small internal combustion engine connected to a 15 – 20 kW generator, two in-wheel 25 kW electric motors, a four gallon fuel tank, and a 3 kWh Li-Ion battery pack. The system is able to take energy normally lost as heat due to braking and return it to the battery, increasing overall system efficiency.


All three models will exceed 100mpg, with speeds of over 100 mph, and breathtaking accelleration – a major breakthrough in the automotive industry.


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Technology


Carver Engineering was faced with the challenge of designing a slender vehicle that would not fall over, as most slim vehicles were prone. Their solution was to make the vehicle do what two-wheeled vehicles did, tilt when cornering. However, due to the size and weight required to make the vehicle enclosed, the tilting operation could not be left to the driver’s control. Therefore, an automatic system that takes over the balance control was required in order to maintain the ideal tilting angles under all imaginable driving conditions, such as at all speeds and accelerations and during rapid emergency maneuvers, and also on slippery or slanting road surfaces. The result was DVC technology, a hydro-mechanical system that splits the steering input from the driver into a front-wheel steering angle and a tilting angle of the chassis.


This predictable, intuitive, and easy to use system automatically adjusts the distribution between the front-wheel angle and tilting angle at varying speeds and road conditions to ensure balance under all circumstances. At lower speeds the steering input is fully directed to the front wheel and the vehicle remains upright. As the vehicle increases speed, the input is more translated into a tilting angle and not into a front-wheel angle. The DVC system operates on a combination of hydraulic and mechanical technologies for a high reliability, quick response and natural “feel”.


Powertrain


The VentureOne’s EV electro-mechanical powertrain presents additional technical advantages. In comparison with a traditional internal combustion engine, an electric motor is relatively simple and far more efficient. The moving parts consist primarily of the armature (dc motors) or rotor (ac motors) and bearings, and efficiency is 35% - 50% higher than that of an internal combustion engine. The torque of an EV is better suited to a vehicle’s demands as well. At low speeds a vehicle needs high torque for acceleration, as cruising speeds are approached the demand for torque lessens. An EV develops maximum torque at low rpm, and torque continues to decline with speed, similar to what a vehicle demands. An EV also does not require a transmission in the traditional sense. In fact the Venture One has no transmission due to the favorable output curve of the electric motor. To reverse the electrical input polarity is simply reversed, which in turn reverses the direction of the motor.


The VentureOne also has separate power to each of the rear wheels which allows automatic traction control, steering assist, and ABS braking to be entirely embedded in software. This eliminates the need for costly additional components and combined with the lack of transmission, severely limits the amount of money a consumer will have to put into maintenance.


Battery


The battery inside the VentureOne will be provided by A123Systems, a multinational manufacturing company based in Watertown, Massachusetts. The batteries address all three major factors that affect battery performance; high power, intrinsic safety, and long life. A123Systems’ battery technology is based upon highly active nanoscale materials that are inexpensive, nontoxic, and extremely stable in electrochemical systems. This high power chemistry is based on proprietary compositions with much higher charge and discharge rates.


The battery depends upon Li Ion energy with very high power, approximately 100C pulse discharge, and can re-charge with high energy in only five minutes. The battery has an extremely long life at both low and high rates and within a wide temperature range (-30C to 70C). The mechanically robust laser welded designed battery is built with inherently safe and green chemistry.


Calculations & Assumptions


Venture Vehicles has made preliminary estimated power calculations using conservative assumptions. The assumptions made include a sub-optimal drag coefficient, 0.32, a heavier vehicle, 1,400 lbs., and a heavier driver, 200 lbs. The calculations also include a total motor power of 50 kW and a 90% motor efficiency rate. Even with the aforementioned assumptions, the results show extraordinary acceleration performance, and a maximum speed in excess of 100 mph. The results also show more than adequate performance over grades as great as 12%. As a result of the testing, the company is confident that a 3.0 kWh power reserve is sufficient and would allow for a 20 mile “EV only” range.


Propulsion


Fuel economy and low emissions are to be expected for small vehicles, and the VentureOne is no exception. With the narrower shape and smaller size of the VentureOne, owners will enjoy dramatically reduce fuel consumption compared to other conventional vehicles –


The VentureOne's Hybrid propulsion system is of a series design. The system consists of a small internal combustion engine connected to a 15 to 20 kW generator, two in-wheel 25 kW electric motors, a four gallon fuel tank, and a 3 kWh Li-Ion battery pack. The system is able to take energy normally lost as heat due to braking and return it to the battery, increasing overall system efficiency.


The VentureOne's all-electric propulsion system has two in-wheel 20 kW electric motors, and a 17 kWh Li-Ion battery pack. Like the Hybrid system is able to return energy lost due to braking to the battery.


Powered by either its hybrid or all-electric drivetrain, and combined with its low weight, the VentureOne is extremely energy-efficient, has low or no emissions, and provides a practical and economical alternative to other low-emission concepts. Also, since the VentureOne is classified as a motorcycle, it enjoys full access the world's High-Occupancy (HOV) lanes.


All three models will exceed 100 mpg in fuel efficiency, and speeds of over 100mph.


Safety


Since it has three wheels, the VentureOne is classified as a motorcycle. And while motorcycles must meet far fewer, and less stringent federal standards than those established for traditional automobiles, Venture Vehicles will be designing the VentureOne to meet, or exceed, Federal safety standards established for traditional automobiles.


Other standard safety features include 3-point driver and passenger seatbelts, a collapsible steering column, safety glass, digital traction control, steerig control, ABS braking, and an innovative front-wheel capture collar that transfers the energy of a front impact to the Carver’s welded moly-steel frame.


Though technically “a motorcycle”, and as such, free from many of the safety and compliance regulations burdening passenger vehicle development, the Carver will come equipped with a full compliment of standard safety features, such as a driver’s airbag, side-impact rails, and a steel roll-cage.


Even with mandatory helmet laws in many states, NHTSA has determined that riding a motorcycle is 33 times more dangerous than a standard passenger car (based on fatalities per 100,000 miles traveled.


Venture Vehicles will be conducting a full program of safety and crash testing for the VentureOne, and any future vehicles we develop.