As you know, Monaco wants to position itself as one of the leading EV countries in the world. Of course, the country's small size helps keep range anxiety in check. HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco enjoyed himself during the Grand Prix de Monaco last weekend when the Venturi Volage was in town. The car, which is the result of Venturi's collaboration with Michelin, is an electric sports car that uses Michelin's Active Wheel. Prince Albert II drove the car along the urban circuit set up for the race.


[Source: Venturi via Le Blog Auto]

While Venturi has cars that drive on the bleeding edge of technology and cost more than several Tesla Roadsters they have not forgotten those of us with more modest means and lesser needs. For folks with as little as €15,000 ($20,700) in pocket and no desire to cruise faster than 45 Kph (28 Mph) there is the newly revised Venturi Eclectric. You may remember the original Eclectic Concept from the 2006 Paris Motor Show with its box shape and open cockpit. This newer version is a little smaller, slightly more aerodynamic and includes doors on its accessory list.

Like its forerunner, there are solar panels affixed to the roof that can offer a couple free klicks of mobility each sunny day and an available 300 watt wind turbine that is said to be good for 13 kilometers (8 miles) when it's breezy. If you find yourself out of juice after sundown on a still night you can always plug in the on-board charger and be ready to go its battery-only distance of 50 kilometers (31 miles) in as little as five hours. Production of the neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) is set to begin in October of 2009 with as many as 3,000 units being produced each year at a new Venturi factory near Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France. You can get even more details at the Eclectic website.

[Source: Venturi]

As previously promised the wraps have come off the Venturi Volage at the Paris Motor Show. While Michelin may have been a collaborator on the revealed electric GT, one glance leaves no doubt it belongs to the Venturi family. It not only shares the carbon fiber body of its sibling, the Fétish, but it will also be lovingly hand-assembled in limited quantities at the same Monaco atelier. Styled by Sacha Lakic, the smooth-bottomed Volage is said to be "designed by subtraction" with its carbon fiber skin fitting tightly around its innovative technology.

And speaking of technology, each wheel on this car holds 2 electric motors! That's right, the "Michelin Active Wheel" system uses one motor for to drive a reduction gear that is also inside the wheel while the other handles the active suspension. All controlled by "spearhead electronics," the Volage can readily adapt to different road surfaces and driving style. Batteries for this electric car are 45 kWh worth of liquid-cooled polymer lithium and are said to provide for 320 Km (199 miles) of driving pleasure at a "stabilized" 90 Kph (56 Mph). The car is capable of getting you to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and tops out at 150 Km (93 Mph). The car will begin its limited production run in 2012 and the price goes unmentioned. If you have to ask...

Check out the gallery below for a shot of the inside of those cool wheels and hit the jump for the full press release.



[Source: Venturi]

This year's edition of the Paris Motor Show is shaping up to be quite a collection of ecological innovation, ranging from the presently practical to the futuristically fanciful. The just-announced vehicular offspring from a Michelin and Venturi collaboration is bound to fall into the later category. Venturi, the Principality of Monaco's largest builder of très vert prototypes (and hopefully next June, seller of the Fetish) and Michelin, maker of tires, have teamed up to create an electric car that features the "most advanced technologies" in all the automotive realm.

Although they haven't given us any sneak peeks yet, this latest showpiece features a design by Sacha Lakic and so should carry that distinctive Venturi "je ne sais quois." We expect it will be a quite racy as it is referred to as "high performance" and is meant to showcase Michelin's latest innovations. We are also told to expect unprecedented architecture which, with Venturi, could mean slightly bizarre. Whatever the case, we will all see it by 5:15 pm on the 2nd of October at a press conference hosted by the representatives from the two companies.

[Source: Venturi]

April 2008 was the month when Venturi intended to launch the Fetish, a carbon-fiber EV sportscar which makes the Tesla look like a bargain. Instead of offering the car this month, Venturi has instead announced that they have managed to improve the Fetish engine - which now gets 300 HP and 380 Nm of torque (280 lb-ft) at 92 percent of efficiency - while reducing by 30kg the global weight of the car, down to 950kg. The batteries will be likely produced by France's Saft and will use lithium-ion technology. The car also features all-around carbon fiber technology.

Le Blog Auto now says that first deliveries are now expected to be held off until June 2009 for an astounding €297,000 (currently $465,000). The car will be assembled in Monaco, although the company is examining a new factory in France. The Fetish races from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.5 seconds, although maximum speed is limited to 160 km/h (100mph).

[Source: Le Blog Auto]

Although introduced in the Paris Motor Show in 2006, the Venturi Astrolab was spotted again at the EVER Salon in Monaco (Green Cars Autoshow). The concept, which showed an interesting tandem lightweight (only 280 kg!) architecture, was designed to provide the maximum surface available to recharge the car's batteries.

The car has a total surface of 3.2 m² which provide 600 W of energy to charge the NiMH Venturi NIV-7 batteries in five hours. With that, you have 18 km (12 miles) of range. But, if you plug it in, the range jumps to about 110 km (70 mi). The concept allowed the development of a solar roof for the second generation of the Eclectic announced for this year's Auto Show.

[Source: Leblogauto]

French website Leblogauto writers went to the EVER Salon in Monaco and gathered information and pictures from the Citroën Berlingo Venturi, which is one of the two vehicles competing for the French Postal Service (La Poste) contract for suburban delivery EVs.

Although the range isn't that spectacular (60 miles), performance should be enough for postal duties: cargo space and payload remain unchanged from the gas/diesel versions. According to the manufacturers, the vehicle is able to achieve highway speeds effortlessly and can be recharged from a simple power outlet for less than 1 € / 100 km. Being optimistic, the diesel version makes about 7 l/100 km, at 1.30 EUR/l you can do the math. Price range is expected to be between €25,000-35,000.

[Source: Leblogauto]

I speak exactly zero French, so I have no idea what they are saying in the above video. But, I do speak electric cars, and I like what I am hearing from the Venturi Fetish at about 50 seconds into said video. I grew up loving the sound that a big internal combustion engine makes, and to be honest, I still do. But, I never liked the smell that proceeded the sounds of the big block! Now, I can love the sound that the motor makes and enjoy the lack of environmental and olfactory impact!

If you liked the first taste, stick around 'till the end, where there is a cool shot of the Fetish speeding away from the camera.

[Source: Google Video via Hugg]

I thought I would share this article that I read that outlines some of the green and alternative vehicles that we have highlighted here on ABG. They speak of the Tesla, Riley XR3, Venturi and the Chevy Volt. Additionally, they weigh in on the debate of hydrogen's use in automobiles. They also offer a photo gallery, so check it out here.

[Source: Forbes]

Autoblogger Eric Bryant at the Paris Motor Show keeps 'em coming.

Having transformed themselves from a low-volume sports car manufacturer to a twenty-first century "CarbonNeutral" car-maker, Venturi is showing a pair of very interesting concepts at the Paris Motor Show this week. The first is the Eclectic, looking like a modern avante-garde rendition of an old horse drawn buggy, this vehicle definitely doesn't need a horse. Venturi describes it as an autonomous vehicle, being powered by the sun or the wind. The roof is covered with solar cells and it also has an integrated wind-turbine for charging the batteries. More images and information after the jump.