Venturi Eclectic: Solar and Wind Powered Electric Car
Venturi, makers of beautiful electric vehicles like the Fetish and the Astrolab are coming out with an electric car that we can afford at $30k, and that will actually be for sale as soon as June 2007.It can be powered by either its photovoltaics, or the wind through a “force wheel”. Too bad it looks like a Model-T golf cart.
The car, according to giz fav Mobile Mag, runs off a 22HP engine, with primary power coming from being plugged in, or the 2.5 square meters of roof panel. It’ll go a little less than 100 miles at 50MPH, per charge. Forget biodiesel and fuel cell-powered vehicles, how about a whip that doesn’t require any fuel whatsoever? The Venturi Eclectic, touted as an “autonomous energy vehicle,” gets its charge from wind gusts and 8.2 square feet of solar cells atop its roof. The four-person ride boasts a 22-horsepower purely electric engine, is powered by liquid-cooled NiMH batteries, and can reach a (yawn-inducing) top-end speed of nearly 32mph.
While it’s no Wrightspeed X1, the designers had “daily driver” in mind when the Ecletic was crafted, but considering it’ll only roll 31 miles on a full charge, you best take the scenic (read: sunny) route to work if you’re facing a long commute. The car does sport an option to recharge via AC power, should you face darker (and calmer) than expected conditions, but since it weighs just 772 pounds, a foursome shouldn’t have too much trouble using the tried and true “push method” if worse comes to worst. Scheduled for production in June 2007, this oh-so-green automombile will run you €24,000 ($30,511) — if you can manage to score one of the 200 that’ll be built, that is.
