Hub Future Quest : Isetta to Solve Our Transportation Woes

A Dutch designer says resurrecting the microcar is the key to reducing congestion and maximizing efficiency.
Ralph Panhuysen, whose Space Efficient Vehicle (SEV) seats three in a sideways V formation and parks two abreast like shoes in a shoebox, dreams of a world in which small, lightweight cars sip fuel and travel two-abreast in a single lane.
“Fiat brought back the 500, BMW the Mini, Volkswagen the Beetle,” said Panhuysen. “Wouldn’t it be great to see a successor to the Isetta, Messerschmitt and Heinkel?”

Panhuysen’s SEV certainly echoes those cars. With three wheels and three passengers, it’s more practical than a motorcycle and more efficient than the two-passenger Smart ForTwo. The exterior would be made of a recyclable flax-fiber composite, and Panhuysen estimates that it would have a drag coefficient of 0.16. That would make it more aerodynamic than the Toyota Prius and almost as slick as the Aptera Motors 2e.

Panhuysen has been preaching the small-car gospel since the SEV reached the finals of the 2008 Michelin Challenge Design. He credits his unorthodox approach to automotive design to having no preconceived notions about cars.
“I started thinking about the logistics of personal transport and urban mobility, and subsequently, about more space-efficient use of the infrastructure after I had spent five years in the logistics of the transportation of goods,” he said.
Instead of a hybrid or electric powertrain, Panhuysen says the SEV is just as efficient with a conventional gasoline engine.That’s because it is small, light and highly aerodynamic. It’s the same formula Aptera used in creating the 2e, although Aptera went for an electric drivetrain. Half the energy a vehicle consumes at 55 mph is needed simply to push the air out of the way.
“The only way to really economize energy use is to put a vehicle on the road that’s ultra-sleek and lightweight to begin with,” he said. “Any propulsion will benefit from that — in terms of range, efficiency and performance.”
With a 500cc two-cylinder engine, Panhuysen estimates the SEV could reach 90 mph while still averaging 80 mpg. That sounds reasonable, considering the 875cc “TwinAir” two-cylinder engine Fiat will offer in the 500 is good for 57 mpg.
One thing’s for sure: We’d love to be at a cocktail party with Panhuysen and Gordon Murray, the former McLaren Formula 1 designer whose 74-mpg T.25 microcar also seats three and is aimed at decongesting roadways.