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]

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]

From MotorAuthority.com comes word of the latest version of the Venturi Fetish, an electric sports car being shown at the Paris auto show. Venturi initially debuted at Paris in 1984 and since then has been building a series of low volume mid-engine coupes. The cars have been attractive if somewhat non-descript. The gas engined versions have been powered by modified Peugeot engines and gearboxes. After a change of ownership in 2001, Venturi changed directions and started developing electric cars.

Two years ago at the Paris show, Monaco-based Venturi unveiled the $600,000 Fetish electric sports car that ran 0-60 in 4.5 sec. Now at this years Paris show Venturi has unveiled a new version of the Fetish. The batteries can drive the electric motor to 240 hp and 160 lb-ft of torque. Combined with only 2160 lbs of mass it provides great acceleration and 160 miles of range. Top speed is only 100 mph though and unless they drop the price significantly this car will have a hard time competing against the Tesla roadster even with it's more radical styling. More images from Autoblogger Eric Bryant in Paris after the jump.

[Source: Motor Authority]