Renault Twizy EV Comes to California

When it was introduced several years, the Renault Twizy was the cheapest electric car you could buy. With a race car like central seating position and instant torque, it was one of the most fun, too- withFormula 1 greats like Sebastian Vettel having fun putting a Twizy through its paces both on the track and in a shopping mall. American EV fans, meanwhile, have had to wait. Until now, that is.

Thanks to San Francisco based car and scooter sharing company, Scoot, the Twizy is now available for rentals at the low low price of $8/half hour.

It’s little different from the Renault version, though. For example, the US Twizy is now called the Nissan New Mobility Concept- which is a terrible name. Even so, the little electric car still tops out at around 30 MPH, so it’s technically a moped. That means you don’t need any kind of license to legally drive the thing (although, it should be noted that Scoot does require a license and the completion of a short online safety course).

So, if you’ve been eager to drive a Renault Twizy down some of California’s twistiest roads- or you’re just itchin’ for some driftin‘- head on over to Scoot and check the little car out. If you take a few pics and send them in, we’ll publish them!

Source | Images: Wired Autopia.

Need a Cheap EV? Renault Twizy May Be The Answer

Great press conference at the Geneva auto show from Renault’s design chief Laurens Van Den Acker who took the limelight to unveil two new concepts – and the pricing for the Twizy EV, a price that took most observers by surprise.

There wasn’t enough room on the stand for all the journalists who wanted to attend and they spilled over onto adjacent stands; here was a good indication of the high expectation that something special was going to be unveiled. And Laurens and the design team didn’t disappoint.

But first the hot news was that the Twizy EV will cost from €6,990 ($9700 US); to lease the battery is just €45 ($62) a month, so not much more than some people pay for their monthly mobile phone charges.

Twizy goes on sale at selected Renault dealers in Europe from the end of this year. The two concepts, R-Space and Captur, show how the synergies within the Alliance can really help both Renault and Nissan.

The R-Space is the third concept car to be completed under the direction of Laurens and represents the "Family" stage in the company’s new design strategy.
R-Space is powered by an Alliance-developed turbocharged three-cylinder, 110 hp, 900cc petrol engine mated to an Efficient Dual Clutch transmission (EDC). This engine previews the new range of Alliance modular TCe engines, Energy TCe, which Renault will begin launching next year. Its CO2 emissions have been kept to just 95g/km, equivalent to fuel consumption of just 3.7 litres/100km.

The Captur is a crossover concept. It uses a twin-turbo engine-concept, developed from the new 1.6 dCi, Energy dCi 130. Downsizing is a key element in Renault’s strategy to meet its declared objective of being Europe’s leading automaker with regard to CO2 emissions.

The range of electric vehicles will run alongside internal-combustion engined models that combine performance with contained fuel consumption. This Energy dCi Concept engine fits perfectly within this strategy. It produces 118kW (160hp) from a capacity of 1.6 litres. Paired with a dual clutch EDC gearbox, this driveline promises genuinely enjoyable driving with CO2 emissions of 99g/km.

Source: Renault Alliance