Canceled EV Models and Concepts What If: The Story of Cancelled EV Models and Concepts-They say that one of the most intriguing questions in life is the question of "what if". And this is applicable in the automotive world as well. Sometimes, the most intriguing cars ever produced are the ones that never made it in production. Throughout automotive history, a good portion of concept cars were not electric vehicles.While these cars are becoming mainstream nowadays, there are electric vehicle concepts that remained just that: concepts.
An electric car based on the second generation Lotus Europa, it is a sports car aimed to compete with cars like the Tesla Roadster. Producing 268 horsepower and 650 Newton meters of torque, the Circuit is estimated to accelerate from zero to 100 kph in less than 5 seconds and possesses a range of 200 miles before it needs recharging, stats that are close to the Tesla's. It is scheduled for release in 2010, but it never made production. With the disbandment of the ENVI group, it is rumored that the Circuit concept is scrapped.
Audi also had its share of dabbling with electric cars. The most recent of them is the e-tron series that began in 2009. The e-tron is a family of concept cars that are either partially or fully powered by electricity. There are 2 different cars that are named e-tron. The first one came out at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Possessing a semblance to the R8, it is powered by four electric motors producing a combined 308 horsepower and 4500 Newton meters of torque.
It is a hybrid powered by an electric motor and a 254cc rotary engine used for extending the car's range. These cars are scheduled to be released between 2012 and 2014, but there are rumors that these cars are not going to make it to the assembly line There are a few more electric vehicles that either weren't produced, or have unclear release dates, that have caught the imagination of automotive fans. These include the Volkswagen E-Up!, a microcar concept similar to the Smart Fortwo, the Cadillac Converj, a radically designed luxury car based on the mechanical structure of the Chevrolet Volt, and the Saturn Vue, a hybrid SUV that was supposed to combine the benefits of an electric car with the capabilities of a truck. There are a lot of obstacles that causes concept cars to be not produced. These include prohibitive costs, the state of the global economy, lack of feasibility, and a company's change in philosophy. While this is the case, car manufacturers will never stop making concepts, which include electric vehicles. Because with concepts comes innovations. And these innovations, while not in the form of a full production model, can serve as a springboard for future advancements in the automotive industry. |
In 2008, Chrysler opened the ENVI group, a division tasked for the production of electric vehicles. While hinting on the production of concept cars and production models that run in electricity, some of these models were never produced. One such car is the Dodge Circuit.
This enables the car to go from zero to 100 kph in 4.8 seconds. It has a range of 248 kilometers and can be recharged by plugging in to a household socket. The second e-tron came out at the Detroit Auto Show. Considerably smaller than the first e-tron, it is rumored to be the prototype of a new model called the R4. Powered by 2 electric motors, it possesses excellent acceleration, going from zero to 100 kph of 5.9 seconds. Another member of the e-tron series is based on the Audi A1.
Search
>