Renault PricesTandem-Seat Twizy EV at €6,900

Renault announced today that its 1+1 tandem-seat electric vehicle will go on sale at the end of 2011 with a starting price of €6,900 (US$9,500), including taxes. The Twizy could be even cheaper to buy in countries where electric cars qualify for incentives.

As with the Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Z.E., buyers will lease the battery for a monthly fee of €45 ($62) for an annual distance of 7,500 km (4,660 miles). According to Renault, this distance covers the vast majority of ordinary motorists' requirements.

Monthly battery subscription aside, Twizy's running costs are estimated by Renault to be 15 percent lower than those of a three-wheeler scooter. These costs include insurance, maintenance and energy (battery lease plus electricity).

The 2.4 meter long Twizy has a maximum driving range of 115 km (72 miles), with a full charge of its batteries taking three and a half hours through any domestic supply.

You can read more about the Twizy in our previous post here.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Italdesign Guigiaro's Polo-Sized VW Tex Coupe and Go! MPV Concepts

Italdesign Giugiaro celebrates its official Volkswagen property status with the the Tex and Go! concepts, both based on VW's upcoming modular transverse architecture. VW hopes use this architecture to cut down on development costs by having a vehicle system that can house a variety of power trains from the start.

Starting with the sportier of the two "A0" segment concepts, the Tex is Italdesign's take on "tomorrow's sporty Volkswagen". This baby Scirocco - approximately the size of a Polo and named after Italian comic hero Tex Willer - is a front-wheel drive sport hatch powered by a Twin Drive hybrid plug-in system.

Mated to a 7-speed DSG, this allows for up to 35 kilometers of electric travel, a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), and a sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) in "about 6 seconds".

The setup utilizes a 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder and an 85 kW electrical unit that creates 400 Nm / 295 lb-ft of combined torque. Inside the Tex are four seats, lots of leather, and a traditional sporty layout which makes use of numerous LCD screens.

Fabrizio Giugiaro, Italdesign Giugiaro style manager and deputy chairman, says, "We intentionally kept a family feeling that would immediately identify it as a Wolfsburg product close to production. No visionary or futuristic choice was made, but it is rather a natural evolution of today's canons with the addition of a few technologies that will shortly become available on the market."

The Go! MPV is powered by a Blue-e-motion system, a 100% VW development that will send the car on a 240 kilometer trip without one bit of CO2 being released into our precious atmosphere.

With the Go!, Giorgetto Giugiaro's goal is to continue his exploration of a small car's interior space that started over three decades ago: "I wanted to continue the design of a car able to offer maximum utilization of its interior...The project started with the 1976 New York Taxi, and continued with the 1978 Megagamma, the 1998 Structura and then came to maturity with the 2010 Emas. The Go! is less than 4 metres long, but offers more passenger room than that of a large SUV and has a 400 up to 525-liter boot."

The A-pillar has been moved forward and the side-view mirrors have been replaced with cameras, while plenty of glass was used for improved visibility and an open-air driving feel. Only the lower parts of the windows can be opened in order to shrink the size of the power window mechanism while still allowing for standard window uses like "paying tolls or refueling".

The seating position (in this case the "H", or hip, point) has been raised to improve ingress/egress, a factor that many people who are getting on in their years will no doubt appreciate. The Go!'s rear "sliding" door has benefited from the Milano Taxi's trackless system, cleaning up those unsightly gashes found on the sides of minivans.

According to Italdesign, "ergonomics" is the word of the day when it comes to the Go!'s interior. Of the four seats, the rear two can be folded down electronically by remote to reach that 525-liter storage capacity. Between the front two seats is a sliding armrest which Italdesign claims "aids the driver when getting out from the passenger side...if parking is narrow or if there are objects blocking the opening of the left door." I'm sure that would be handy when going out on dates, too.

Essential data is shown at the base of the windshield, which is said to reduce eye strain while still showing drivers what's what while driving.

VW Group Design Chief Walter de' Silva says, "The Go! and Tex are the first concrete result of Italdesign Giugiaro's integration within the Group...These two concept cars are the outcome of an independent research study carried forth by Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro on a topic strategic for the Group: solutions for the urban mobility of tomorrow."

By Phil Alex

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Geneva Preshow: Rolls-Royce 102EX EV Study Might Just have the Largest Passenger Car Battery...in the World

Rolls-Royce has pulled the wraps off the next vehicle in its EX concept series, the 102EX (AKA Phantom Experimental Electric). The 102EX is meant to gauge reactions and opinions from the firm's clientele, shareholders, and the general public in regards to a Roller with a non-traditional drive train. As the 102EX is strictly a concept, Rolls-Royce hopes to resolve any issues that people might have with an all-electric - or any non-traditionally powered - Rolls.

Going back to the RR playbook, customers are the most important people to the Spirit of Ecstasy. Therefore, the manufacturer wants to be sure that expectations are met, not too much extra effort has to be put into ownership ("acceptable range...without frequent recharging"), and a proper Rolls-Royce ownership experience is provided.

Using the Phantom's aluminum spaceframe as a base, Rolls-Royce engineers have installed two electric motors (145 kW each) and a lithium-battery pack in the 102EX. The pack uses five lithium-cobalt-manganese-oxide (or NCM) "pouch cells" sized at four, eight, ten, thirty-six, and thirty-eight cells in a formation that mimics the shape of the usual engine and transmission.

Charging is performed by three individual 3kW chargers that allow for both single-phase and three-phase charging at 20 hours and 8 hours, respectively. Rolls is also trying out induction charging, which uses a giant transfer pad on the floor and an induction pad under the car (like those Powermat phone chargers).

All told, the electric setup provides the 102EX with 290 kW (389HP) and 800 Nm of torque (versus 338 kW or 453HP and 750 Nm in the standard Phantom). Current estimates put the 102EX's range at 200 kilometers (124 miles) with the ability to reach 60 mph (96 km/h) in under 8 seconds (5.7 seconds for the V12 Phantom) and a limited top speed of 99 mph (160 km/h).

Trying not to sway too far from expectations, the 102EX will retain many standard Roll-Royce features while applying new ideas that represent the car's electric heart.

Its exterior is finished in four coats of Atlantic Chrome, a shade of paint that uses ceramic nano particles to provide a unique reflective surface. Also, the nose-mounted Spirit of Ecstasy is now made of Makrolon (not stainless steel) and will glow. The fuel cap has been modified to provide a charging point with LED indicators that show current charge status such as blue (initial stage), flashing blue (charging), green (fully charged), flashing green (when the charging solenoid is removed). Red or flashing red indicates a problem in the system.

Atlantic Chrome also finds its way to the interior, where the car's gauges have been modified to provide the electric drive train's information; examples include gauges for battery charge level, power reserve, etc. To make things even more convenient, there is a switch in the front center armrest that controls charging and houses a readout showing the car's charge status.

Now, to the luxury feel; the interior wears Corinova leather, which uses a "natural vegetable tanning process" and is 100% chrome-free and uses an aluminized foil weave instead of wood.

Scroll on down for more pictures, and don't forget to check back for live shots from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

By Phil Alex

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