Expat develops ultra-fast vehicle in Lucerne

For German expat automotive engineer Peter Maskus, Switzerland is the perfect place to pursue his wildest fantasies - such as developing a two-wheel vehicle that he claims travels up to 550 kilometres an hour, while sipping just one litre of petrol to go more than 40 kilometres. As the former Porsche employee points out, real mobility progress goes a long way beyond fine-tuning hybrid SUVs, although his prototype has a few hurdles to clear before becoming street legal. Expat Peter Maskus spent years in Germany working for big names like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota before launching his own consulting business. Tired of the conservative nature of the über-powerful German car industry, the automotive engineer moved to the canton of Lucerne in 2004, where he found the ideal place to create the vehicle of the future.

From the D4 Business Center in Root, home of Lucerne’s Technopark, Maskus, 48, has developed a prototype vehicle that he claims has been tested on an airport runway at a top speed of 550 kilometres an hour, with rocket-like acceleration.

Although it’s designed to travel on land, the Acabion GTBO looks like a cross between a dolphin and a jet. The long-nosed two-wheel vehicle is a two-seater, with the passenger’s seat located behind the driver.
“Sitting side-by-side costs us 50 percent of our efficiency and fuel,” Maskus told Swisster, in explaining the design. “There’s a direct proportion between the size at the front of a vehicle and the energy needed to make it move.”
 
According to Maskus, the automobile was never even invented. “The car simply evolved from the horse and carriage,” said Maskus, noting the basic similarities between the two modes of transport.
In contrast, his invention is sleek and efficient, though so far he has developed only one model of the vehicle - neither a car nor a motorcycle - after investing three million francs. The prototype is not yet street legal. But Maskus harbours hopes of getting the vehicle into production and envisages four- and nine-seat versions for families and groups.
 
While he is concerned about the environment, he also feels the need for speed. “We can’t tell our kids, ‘We drove these fast Porsches and used up all the gasoline – now you can only go 30 miles per hour in an electric car,’” Maskus said.
“The current automobile technology is a disaster in terms of climate change,” he said, comparing it to a refrigerator without insulation. Thanks to the Acabion’s unique shape and technology, it enjoys a fuel efficiency of up to 42 kilometres per litre of petrol.
 
It took three years to build the Acabion and Maskus credits the Swiss receptiveness to innovation for helping him get this far.
“Switzerland is a fantastic platform,” he said. “We have great contacts and support here.”
 
The Acabion may not be on the road yet but it is beginning to get attention around the world. American TV network CBS has reported on the vehicle. In 2006, the Taiwan edition of GQ Magazine named the Acabion the world’s best mobility innovation. And in 2008, it won the German Future Award.
Maskus has been able to test drive the Acabion at places such as the Engadin airport and occasionally, he sneaks in a ride near the Lucerne Technopark. Ultimately, Maskus would like to build a version that runs on solar electricity along elevated tracks. He envisions vacuum tubes under the Atlantic Ocean to enable intercontinental travel.
 
In addition to speaking at conferences, Maskus has written a couple of books. He has written "The Century of the Innovators, from the progress of an art to the art of progress," a 12-volume, 1,200-page German-language book that he is currently translating into English. He plans to publish the English version in installments at www.acabion.com.
Maskus believes that to be innovative, you have to remain a child to a degree.
 
“It’s a marvelous job, but it’s weird how this job of innovator has been lost,” he said. “I’m convinced that there are 10 Leonardo da Vincis out there, but they’re probably suppressed or watching TV and drinking beer.”