Known as B0 - that's B-Zero - the small emission-free city car is dedicated to Andrea Pininfarina, the company chairman who died earlier in 2008.
Despite troubled times at the specialist consultancy, Pininfarina have entered into a partnership with Bolloré for production of the electric car.
This car will not be a prototype. It will be a mass production model, with the first units coming off the production line at the end of 2009.
Production will then be ramped up gradually based on the availability of the batteries - currently the biggest headache facing developers of electric vehicles.
Built in Turin by Pininfarina-Bolloré, the B0 electric car will be powered by Bolloré's proprietary LMP technology, using a combination of batteries and supercapacitors.
The B0 will be a fully-electric vehicle without zero carbon dioxide emissions, having been designed from the ground up with that aim in mind.
Its batteries will be housed in a compartment specially designed for that purpose and located under the car, between its axles, lowering its centre of gravity and improving road-holding.
With a body styled by Pininfarina, the B0 will be an elegant four-seater, four-door hatchback with an automatic gearbox.
Its LMP battery, which will be rechargeable in a matter of hours from a standard domestic main socket, will provide it with a range of 250 km (153 miles).
The B0 will have a top speed that is electronically limited to 130 km/h (80 mph) and will feature potent acceleration, reaching 60 km/h from a standing start (0 to 37 mph) in 6.3 seconds.
The B0 will also feature solar panels on its roof and hood, so as to help recharge its electrical power reserves.
Posted on 07.10.2008
