PARIS — Just as the Geneva auto show showcases such local talent as Rinspeed and Sbarro, so, too, does the biennial Paris show. The 2008 Paris Auto Show played host to such novelties as the Venturi Volage, perhaps one of the most technologically advanced concepts on display this year.
As a follow-up to the sensational 2004 Fetish electric sports car, the Volage is being positioned by its Monaco-based parent, Venturi Automobiles, as the "ultimate electric GT."
Designed, like the Fetish, by Sacha Lakic, the carbon-bodied Volage seats two and features scissors-style doors. But that's nowhere near the most unique aspect of this unusual vehicle.
Venturi has teamed with Michelin, which has provided its "active wheel" technology, in effect bundling four-wheel drive with active suspension via a pair of electric motors in each wheel hub — one for drive and one for suspension. In addition, the car rides on Michelin tires — 205/40R18 in front and 235/45R18 at the rear.
The four individual drive motors produce a combined 295 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel the Volage from zero to 60 mph in less than 5.0 seconds with a top speed of nearly 160 mph.
The advanced lithium-polymer batteries can be charged from household current and have a range of nearly 200 miles at a steady 56 mph.
The body is mounted on a composite chassis consisting of a carbon fiber "sandwich" with aluminum honeycomb. The result is an ultralight 2,360-pound curb weight, including the batteries.
The driver can manage all systems, including the motorized shocks and battery pack, from a dashboard-mounted LCD touchscreen panel.
Venturi aims to put the Volage into limited production in 2012, building the car by hand in Monaco alongside the Fetish.
What this means to you: With the Fetish currently priced from just over $400,000, expect to pony up at least half a mil for the new Volage. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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