Electric Cars Are Coming of Age – Check out the LION INIZIO!
Get yourself a LION!
That’s right. A LION of a car – and at a LION of a PRICE: $US139,000 jimmy-O-goblins! Not overly high, really. At least as super-car prices tend to go. Nevertheless, in my struggling Kiwi currrency that’s still NZ$185,364.87.
Here’s the gist, from Li-ion Motors itself… And remember, this is a battery powered, electric car! (bold emphasis is mine)
“This fantastic supercar will be available in two models. The more basic model will be capable of speeds up to 170 mph and the more powerful version will be capable of speeds up to 200 mph. This luxurious sports car was first shown at the New York Auto Show and was designed by the same engineers responsible for the success of our WAVE II.
The Inizio has superb acceleration of 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds. The Inizio is manufactured using our advanced (proprietary) lithium-ion battery packs that can recharge in eight hours or less depending upon the current used, and has a range of up to 200 miles per charge. As with all electric cars produced by Li-ion Motors, the Inizio, does not contain oil filters, air filters, fuel filters, timing belts, or V-belts, and has fewer maintenance cost than gas powered vehicles.
The Inizio was custom designed and developed from the ground up by LMCO’s top engineers and fabricators. The Inizio was designed to exude visual appeal while ensuring optimum comfort unlike some high-end sports cars. The spacious interior easily accommodates our taller consumers. The car’s removable hardtop stores inside the vehicle and multi functioning power seats add both heating and cooling capabilities to the Inizio’s adjustable seats. The production chassis has removable battery pods, allowing us to offer an extreme power plant upgrade to the propulsion package upon the customer’s request.
The INIZIO, high-end electric transportation for the next generation.”
ENGADGET had this to say,
“Tesla, schmesla. This, friends, is the electric vehicle that your garage has been waiting for. Designed by North Carolina’s own Li-ion Motors, the downright stunning INIZIO is being hailed as the world’s first all American-made electric supercar, and while the Roadster is definitely peppy, it ain’t got nothing on this. Using the company’s own lithium-ion battery technology and management system, the car can purportedly cruise for up to 250 miles on electricity alone, and it can hit a top speed of 170 miles per hour without breaking a sweat. Naturally, you won’t (legally) fit more than two humans into this thing at once, but those two individuals will enjoy adjustable, leather / suede Recaro seating with heating and cooling features, an inbuilt 12-inch subwoofer, digital surround sound system, integrated navigation system, DVD player and rotational doors that raise on a 90-degree angle. Oh, and they’ll probably drool a little after racing from zero to sixty in 3.4 face-numbing seconds. The company also adds that it emits no carbon emissions, can be recharged over 2,500 times and can go from drained to rejuvenated after just eight hours on the plug. It’s expected to launch in mid-2011 with a starting price of $139,000, or just a few pennies more than the current value of the wretched Carolina Panthers franchise.“
If you want more, here’s a You Tube release from Li-Ion Inizio Electric Supercar @ SEMA 2010
