This French Electric Cruiser Is Set To Take On The Harley LiveWire

The Voxan Wattman electric bike inches closer to production

• The Voxan Wattman gets a unique aluminium exoskeleton instead of a conventional frame.
• The production version is currently undergoing testing.
• It makes 203.9PS and 200Nm, and offers a claimed range of 180km.

In 2010, French bikemaker Voxan was acquired by an electric mobility company from Monaco, called Venturi. Sacha Lakic, Venturi’s lead designer, created the Wattman electric cruiser and the concept version was unveiled at the 2013 Paris Motor Show. Track testing of the production version of this electric motorcycle began on March 12, 2020, but was temporarily put to hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Development has now resumed as the lockdown was lifted in Monaco on May 4. 

Venturi says over the coming months, the company will continue testing the electric motorcycle’s software technologies and optimise the bike’s performance and its powertrain’s thermal stability. Expect it to launch the production version early next year. 

The Voxan Wattman has been designed and developed in Monaco, teaming up with Venturi North America and the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University, USA. The university research team assembled the cells in the 320V, 12.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It is claimed to be capable of charging up to 80 per cent in just about half an hour using a level 2 fast-charger. That’s a little hard to believe considering the Harley-Davidson LiveWire’s slightly larger 15.5kWh battery pack takes about 40 minutes to charge up to 80 per cent using a faster level 3 DC fast-charger. You can also charge the Wattman’s battery overnight with a home socket. It offers a claimed range of 180km as opposed to the LiveWire's 158km claimed range (as per WMTC cycle).

The battery pack is linked to a permanent magnet liquid-cooled motor which is capable of churning out an impressive 203.9PS of power right from 7500rpm all the way to 10,500rpm. This is complemented by an instantaneous 200Nm of torque. With this, the bike is claimed to be capable of reaching a top speed of 170kmph and a 0-100kmph acceleration time of just 3.4 seconds. 

Another unique aspect about this electric power cruiser is that it employs a rigid aluminium exoskeleton instead of a conventional frame. All the powertrain components and underpinnings are integrated into this exoskeleton. The Wattman uses a 43mm inverted front fork and a pair of preload-adjustable horizontal rear shock absorbers. The shock absorbers are linked to a unique dual-swingarm setup. Bringing this 350kg cruiser to a stop are four 230mm Beringer 4D System discs up front and 230mm Beringer discs at the rear. This type of braking system is common on exotic American bikemaker Curtiss Motorcycles’ (previously known as Confederate motorcycles) creations.

Also Read: Upcoming Bike Launches In July 2020

Venturi is also set to unveil a high-performance, streamliner land-speed record breaking 367PS version of the Wattman electric cruiser soon. The company plans to attempt the speed record in July 2021, aiming to hit a top speed of 330kmph.