The plastic body panels are fixed to a light aluminium tubular chassis, and the resulting low kerb-weight of 800kgs has allowed the engineers to fit a much smaller powertrain than is the ‘norm’ for hybrid vehicles. There’s a 94hp electric motor that will whirr for 100km on a single charge of the lithium-ion batteries. If you want to keep driving, a 24hp petrol engine roars into life to provide extra juice for the battery.
The downside? You’ll have to pay €50,000 for one of the 10,000 examples that Mindset plans to churn out every year from 2009, and there’s no mention yet of the motorcycle-engined track day version...
 |
 |