Tango EV Re-enters Production

Ever heard of the Tango EV? This is a quirky, expensive all-electric two-seat vehicle that has barely got off the ground. For a mere $150,000 you get an extremely thin car with impressive performance metrics. Zero to sixty in four seconds, top speed of over 100 mph and a range of 120 miles makes it a daily driver for nearly all commuters.

But why spend nearly 50% more than the entry fee for a Tesla Roadster for this car? The Tesla boasts better performance and twice the range for much less money. What are we missing here? Why is the Tango so pricey?

From USA Today:

At a bit more than 3 feet wide, the Tango is clearly in contention for bragging rights to claim to be America's skinniest car. Eleven were built and now Rick Woodbury says he's like to create more, so he's taking orders. It certainly is unique, even as a commuter car.

Tango is so the twiggy-thin that Woodbury says that scores of police officers have told him they wouldn't give him a ticket if he drove it between lanes on a crowded freeway just like a motorcycle. (Those were the good cops. The bad cop, on the other hand ...) The goal was to create a car that can zip through crowded urban traffic. To achieve that, Tango has two seats, one behind the other, and doesn't waste room like typical cars used by solo commuters.

"All those people are using the wrong tool for the job, carrying four empty seats around" he says. The car doesn't come cheap, though, with price well above the priciest Lexus: $150,000.

Woodbury has been showing off Tango this week at the SEMA trade show in Las Vegas, which closes today. The company hopes to compete for the X Prize, aimed at rewarding the best of the next-generation of high-mileage cars. Tango could be a contender, if for no other reason, its unique powerplant:

It is electric powered and unlike some other urban electric prototypes, has four wheels instead of three. Tango will go 120 miles per charge, zoom from zero to 60 miles per hour in about four seconds and top out over 100 mph, says its maker Commuter Cars, based in Spokane, Wash. The batteries are carried low to the ground, making up much of the car's ton of ballast to make sure it's stable and won't tip over in tight turns, Woodbury says.

As for safety, Tango depends on a sturdy cage like that other small car, the Smart. Woodbury says the passenger compartment meets specifications for NASCAR racing. It has four times the side protection of a typical SUV. Also like the Smart, the car's 8-foot, 5-inch length should allow it to be parked nose first to the curb in a street parking spot.

Best of all, even if your having trouble getting thin, at least your car can be the envy of every wide-body.