Smartplanet has published some information about the Elettrica: Future Vehicles has already put it on sale. The Elettrica is an all-electric car which can be purchased with either a set of lead-acid batteries (at £9,950) or a lithium pack (at £12,750). This is "just a little more" expensive than the G-Wiz, which had a recent offer with prices starting at £2,999. I made a small test drive of the latter during the Barcelona Auto Show and I was unimpressed when I compared it to a regular car, but admit it's far superior than any 49cc quadracycle.

Nevertheless, the Elettrica has a very decent performance: a 70-mile range and a maximum speed of 45 mph. The company also sells converted classics so you can run on electrons in a more classy way. You can get an converted Mini Classic with prices starting on £17,500. If I win the lottery, I'll get one.

Related:

• Lithium powered EV to be built in England
• Italian-made Elettrica EV makes London-to-Brighton drive "with battery capacity to spare"
• GoingGreen has a post-Xmas sale on the G-Wiz

[Source: Smartplanet (thanks to Matthew and Adam for the tip)]

We've already covered the Italian-designed Kurrent built in Michigan by American Electric Vehicle. An English company is preparing to use the same design and build it in Britain. Future Vehicles will produce the Elettrica to take on the popular if easily "compacted" G-Wiz. Unlike the Kurrent, which uses lead gel batteries to achieve a forty mile range, the Elettrica will use lithium ion batteries to bump the range to seventy miles.

As we found out when we toured the AEV factory the Kurrent and Elettrica use a steel egg-shell cage for extra strength and the Kurrent has even been crash tested. In the wake of crash tests of the G-Wiz, safety will be one the selling points of the Elettrica which will go for £12,750 inc VAT (value-added-tax).

[Source: Basic Transportation, thanks to Alex for the tip]

It may look like an AEV Kurrent to American eyes, but the car in the photo here is an Elettrica. It may share the look of the Kurrent, but the Elettrica is an Italian-made electric car that recently proved it has a range of at least 50 miles during a drive from London to Brighton without recharging. Indeed, it had "battery capacity to spare." Is 50 miles far? No, but it's a way to introduce this car to England.

The Elettrica will be sold in the UK by Travelelectric starting in September. Travelelectric is adapting the Elettrica "into a form more suitable" for the UK. This means the British Elettrica has a range of 60 miles per 5-hour charge and a top speed of 40mph. The batteries are made of aircraft-grade lithium-cobalt.

[Source: Green Car Guide]