Venturi Volage concept is a two-seat sports car with four-wheel drive that introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.
Venturi Volage concept is an electric powered car that was developed as the result of a partnership between Venturi and tire manufacturers Michelin.
The aerodynamic carbon-fibre bodywork of the Venturi Volage was styled by Sacha Lakic, and lies an aluminium and composite material chassis which is both light and strong. Weight is an important consideration in designing electric powered vehicles as the batteries themselves are quite heavy.
The batteries used in the Volage are Lithium-Polymer (li-po) units which weigh 350 kgs (772 lbs) in total. These batteries can be recharged over 1,500 times, and can be 80% recharged in just four hours using an external recharge booster, using the vehicles built-in charger it takes 8 hours.
An even distribution of the Venturi Volage’s weight - 45% at the front, 55% at the rear, and an overall weight of 1,075 kilos ( 2370 lbs) enables it to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than 5 seconds.
Inside each wheel of the Venturi Volage are two electric motors. One provides drive, the other is used for suspension in a system called “Michelin Active Wheel”. This active electric shock absorber system allows for total adaptation to the type of road
surface and driving.
Inside the two-seat Venturi Volage is a touch screen dashboard which can be configured to suit the drivers favored layout. From this interface the driver can also configure the vehicle to suit his or her needs. For example, they can decide to give priority to range rather than power, or comfort rather than speed.
Venturi hope to have the Volage in limited production by 2012. Each car will be hand assembled at the Venturi workshops in Monaco.
Related Tags: paris motor show, lithium polymer, shock absorber, volage, electric powered car, lakic, seat sports, electric shock, electric powered vehicles, tire manufacturers, li po, even distribution, composite material, venturi, road surface, carbon fibre, concept car, bodywork, michelin, four wheel drive
