First Look: ECOmove Qbeak

ECOmove, a new Danish EV company, has just unveiled the first model of their QBEAK series in their hometown of Horsens. Their first prototype is a topless electric runabout that incorporates many of the things you'd expect in a city car, including compact size, light weight and modular chassis. It also has a few surprises like sliding electric doors, a centered driver position and smart phone-based instrumentation within the steering wheel. The company expects to show other, full body models in the near future.

What all the QBEAK vehicles share is a slick "skateboard" platform that opens a world of possibilities. Made of aluminum, Kevlar composites and plastics, the base is expandable both length- and width-wise and contains all the auto's control systems and batteries. Both the motors and suspension bits are located within the wheels.

Designed to be rust-free and robust, the QBEAK suite of vehicles incorporate recyclable body panels that can be swapped to update both color and style. They can also be ordered with a varied amount of batteries - from one to six - with the full complement apparently good for a 250-kilometer (155-mile) range.

Credits: wilswong