After talking to the makers of the Tango, we got this update from them:

We are currently building 3 production ready prototypes of a slightly modified design so that it can be manufactured. We are hoping to be able to produce 1 Tango per day starting in early 2002. The first cars we build will be kit cars as there is not enough time to complete the FMVSS certification. The kits should require about 8 hours of easy assembly.

We are currently putting together a proposal to a major manufacturer at their request to build as many as 10,000 Tangos per year, fully certified, starting in 2003. I hope this can be achieved, as it would greatly speed up the process of getting to mass market.

Our projected price for the Viper-eating sub-12-second-1/4-mile kit car is $42,000 US. This is a very preliminary figure for now. We expect to have a 0-60 in 7 seconds model called the Foxtrot for much less. If the manufacturer that we're negotiating with helps us to build 10,000 cars per year, we expect the Tango to sell for under $30,000 and the Foxtrot for under $20,000.

Rick Woodbury, the main behind the Tango explains how it came to be:

The Tango was conceived while I was driving in LA traffic. Almost 20 years ago I noticed that all the cars around me in a traffic jam only had one occupant. I thought, "What a waste of extremely expensive real estate to say nothing of the valuable time of all those millions of people, all over the world, in the same predicament." Then I thought "Why don't they make narrow cars that could fit 2 to a lane--that ought to fix the problem." Then I thought, "Being too narrow, they'd tip over." Then I thought "What if they were ballasted with iron- titanium hydride, a well known storage for hydrogen--then we could have clean and narrow vehicles." Well, I waited for technology, then I got impatient. So here it is as an electric first, later it will surely be hydrogen driven.

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The increased interest in electric vehicles is finally paying dividends with some leccycars now boasting performance that would embarress many a petrol car.

Yes, those are slicks!

One such invention is the Tango. This somewhat narrow car looks like a narrowed Punto. It's not particularly juice inducing in the style stakes but its makers claim it can hit 60mph in less than 4 seconds! It can also do 124mph apparently. Range is 80 miles.

If you're worried about the stability of this fag packet on wheels then check out the videos on the website (under stability) - they're quite a giggle. It makes the Smart car look bloated and would be sure to raise a chortle wherever you went, particularly if you drove with as much zest as shown in the videos.

Best of all posing drivers will be able to poke both elbows out of the windows...

Links: www.commutercars.com , Electric Car Links