Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Renault Twin’Z Concept Hints At Future Of French EVs


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Electric vehicles came to Europe right around the same time as a recession, so sales of EVs have been stubbornly slow. But that hasn’t stopped French automaker Renault from rolling out the new Twin’Z Concept, an EV sent here from far in the future, where cars are apparently made from light.
The Renault Twin’Z Concept is definitely meant to hint at the next generation of electric cars, though the design isn’t all that revolutionary. It looks like a highly-modified four-door hatchback, though it does come with suicide doors and a very funky, minimalist interior. There is only a single gauge cluster, which looks like an iPad, and a smartphone dock. The seats are made of mesh, and the steering wheel is, well, not really a wheel.
Powered by a single electric motor making 67 horsepower and 167 ft-lbs of torque, the Twin’Z can reach a top speed of just 50 mph. It supposedly weighs around 1,000 kg, or about 2,200 pounds, an impressively lightweight for any car, and particularly an EV. To me, this is an obvious hint at where Renault thinks the future of EVs lay; lightweight, bare-bones city cars with limited stop speeds and range.
And they just might be right. Give it a few hip colors, a smartphone dock, a few speakers and a heater, and you might have an affordable, practical EV for hip urban folk at a price they can bear.


Source: Gas2.0

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