The world could have been a very different
world if electric cars had taken off a century ago. During the formative years
of the automobile, heaps of electric models were on the market, and at one
stage in the early 1900s, EVs actually outsold gasoline-powered vehicles. Due
to a series of factors, including the discovery of large petroleum reserves
throughout the United States and the falling cost of petroleum, the internal
combustion engine quickly became the norm and the EV didn’t return in force
until just a few years ago.
Intrigued by the idea of what a race car
from the early 1940s could have looked like were it to feature an electric
powertrain, designer Alexander Imnadze Baldini created a special concept which
he dubs the Helvezzia Tipo-6.
The vehicle has been designed as a racer,
albeit one that could also be used on the streets. It has a shape similar to
classic race cars from the period and, despite the electric powertrain, sports
a large chrome grille up front. It also has an open-wheel design and is sports
a set of thin tires, along with a spare wheel strapped to the side, just as one
would expect for a vehicle of this age.
Being a race car, the Helvezzia Tipo-6 has
just a single seat. Located in front of the driver is a three-spoke steering
wheel that houses three different gauges and a set of switches, while behind
the steering wheel there are five additional gauges.
