Last updated 2010 replica of the Siemens "Elektrische Viktoria"
The Elektrische Viktoria was an electric car built in several versions by Siemens between 1905 and 1909 in Berlin. The versions comprised a four-seat convertible (advertised and used as a hotel taxi), a minibus with a box-like structure (much like a pickup), and a van.
An electric car is a plug-in electric automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy typically stored in rechargeable batteries.
Siemens AG (Aktiengesellschaft) is a German conglomerate company headquartered in Berlin and Munich and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe with branch offices abroad.
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,748,148 (2018) inhabitants make it the second most populous city proper of the European Union after London. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with its capital, Potsdam. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of more than 30,000 km², Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.
Top speed was 30km/h (19mi/h). The electric motor operated at a nominal potential of 88 volts and a maximum current of 40 amperes. The maximum power was 3.520 kW (about 4.8 HP). The cruising range was 60km with the smaller battery version and 80km with the larger battery version.
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero.
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force in the form of rotation of a shaft. Electric motors can be powered by direct current (DC) sources, such as from batteries, motor vehicles or rectifiers, or by alternating current (AC) sources, such as a power grid, inverters or electrical generators. An electric generator is mechanically identical to an electric motor, but operates in the reverse direction, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
The volt is the derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force. It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
The car was built in the Berlin-based factory Siemens-Schuckertwerke, a Siemens subsidiary. The total number of units built is not known, but, according to Siemens internal records, probably between 30 and 50 were produced. The price was steep by 1905 standards, at 11000 to 17500 Marks, depending on the model and battery capacity. At the time, a worker's monthly wages were in the range of 120 to 150 Marks.
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914. The Papiermark refers to the German currency from 4 August 1914 when the link between the Mark and gold was abandoned.
Development
Regenerative braking was added during development, i.e., while braking the electric motor's operation was reversed, turning it into an electric generator charging the battery, such that the available kinetic energy could be turned into extended cruising range.
Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form which can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism the electric motor uses the vehicle's momentum to recover energy that would be otherwise lost to the brake discs as heat. This contrasts with conventional braking systems, where the excess kinetic energy is converted to unwanted and wasted heat by friction in the brakes, or with dynamic brakes, where energy is recovered by using electric motors as generators but is immediately dissipated as heat in resistors. In addition to improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle, regeneration can greatly extend the life of the braking system as its parts do not wear as quickly.
2010 replica
In 2010 Siemens built a full-scale replica, based on partial sketches and three photographic images. Only the battery was modified for environmental reasons, avoiding the original lead based battery technology. The lighting was modernized in order to receive official approval for operation on public roads. Siemens rebuilt the city car type B "Electrical Viktoria open". The weight is 1530kg, to which the battery alone contributes 480kg. Fully charging the battery takes between five and a half to six hours on 220 volt mains. The car was approved on April 8, 2010 and presented to the public in Berlin on April 30.[1]
Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is silvery with a hint of blue; it tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and three of its isotopes each include a major decay chain of heavier elements.
On June 21, 2010, the replica was involved an accident in the environs of Hinterzarten, a resort village in the Black Forest, when the car suddenly veered off the road and into an embankment at full speed. The driver and leader of the replica project, Wilfried Feldenkirchen, a professor of economic history, was killed, when he was ejected from the car. Four accompanying students were injured, two seriously.[2]
Hinterzarten is a resort village in the Black Forest, located in the southwest of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Although Hinterzarten is mostly famous for its ski jumpers, it also has many tourist attractions.
Wilfried Paul Feldenkirchen was a German professor and economic historian.
Sources
↑ see also:105 Jahre Elektromobilität in Berlin. Vom Historischen Elektrotaxi bis zur Mobilitätsinfrastruktur der Zukunft, article in the Siemenswelt, May 2010, page 4
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