Venturi
Volage
Like
all contemporary Venturi vehicles the Volage concept is an electric powered
car. Introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show the Venturi Volage concept was a
two-seat sports car with four-wheel drive. It was developed as the result of a
partnership between Venturi and tire manufacturers Michelin.
Under
the flowing, aerodynamic carbon fibre bodywork of the Venturi Volage, which was
styled by Sacha Lakic, 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.
