London, Sep 13 (IANS): MUTE is here. It's an agile, sporty two-seater, eco-friendly electric vehicle capable of hitting a peak speed of 120 kmph.

Its lithium-ion battery is designed to guarantee a range of at least 100 km, which can be extended by a reserve zinc-air battery when required.

MUTE's stable frame, made of aluminum and carbon fibre reinforced plastic chasis, reduces the curb weight, including batteries, to a mere 500 kg.

"Low weight is essential for an electric vehicle," says the Germany-based Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) vehicle engineer Markus Lienkamp, according to a TUM statement.

"Greater weight requires more battery performance for the same range, which results in higher costs. Greater weight also results in reduced dynamics for a given power output. But we want a car that is affordable and fun to drive," said Lienkamp.

TUM engineers have developed MUTE from scratch. Every part has been optimized for three main factors: efficiency, low overall cost and safety.

Preliminary studies were carried out to ascertain what mobility of the future will look like, what customer requirements will be and how these might be fulfilled in a cost-effective and weight-saving manner.

Over 200 staff members of 20 departments of Technische Universitaet Muenchen's Science Center for Electromobility joined forces to develop the MUTE concept.

TUM holds the intellectual property rights for overall concept. Over 30 partners from industry support the project as a whole.

MUTE will showcase the TUM's answer to future challenges in personal mobility at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany.