Zagato Volpe electric car is as small as it is cheap

A pretty-looking, single-seat electric car is to go on sale that is as small in size as it is low in price; the Zagato Volpe measures 2.13m by 1m and when it goes on sale it will cost £5,600.

As well as the fully electric version, the Volpe will be available as a petrol or LPG hybrid. The electric Volpe has a top speed of 30mph and a maximum range of 37 miles – the hybrid variants are able to travel up to 223 miles on a single tank of fuel.

A spokesperson for the ETA, a car breakdown company that covers both conventional and electric vehicles, said: “A retail price of £5,600 would make the Volpe no more expensive than many of the larger petrol scooters and it would be a drier, safer and greener way to travel around a city.”

What is a quadricycle?

With a weight of only 350kg, the electric Volpe is classified as a quadricycle rather than as a car. Sometimes referred to as a micro car, a quadricycle is a four-wheeled vehicle with an unladen mass not more than 400kg (excluding batteries if it is an electric vehicle) and whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 15 kW. The best known quadricycle in Britain is the G-Wiz.

Quadricycles do not have high top speeds and cannot travel as far on one charge or tank of fuel as a conventional city car, but they are ideally suited to the urban environment.

There is a perception that large, heavy cars such as 4X4s are safe, but they pose an increased risk to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of lighter cars in the event of a collision. Quadricycles on the other hand are designed to operate in urban areas at low speeds. According to Government figures, Greater Manchester has an average traffic speed of 12.1mph, Leicester 13.6mph, London 14.6mph, West Yorkshire 14.6mph, Merseyside 14.9mph, South Yorkshire 15mph and the West Midlands 15.5mph (Road Statistics 2008: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion).

Comments

  1. geoff may

    Reply

    please advise name/address of UK dealers

  2. Neil Campbell

    Reply

    I am interested to find out if the electric quad-cycle car can be used tarred road in a retirement development without a holding any form of a UK driving licence.

  3. paul

    Reply

    when are these volpe cars going to be put on the road?? i would like the guru model. we have heard nothing from zagato website since may 2013. have they gone bust?? loncin in china is supposed to be making them, but any up to date info is never mentioned. ps what is the size of the fuel tank for the generator, can,t get that simple bit of info either. paul

  4. Abelardo Garcia

    Reply

    Interested in possible distribution for Madrid, Spain.
    A. García ELECTRIC CITY CARS, S. L.
    MADRID

  5. paul

    Reply

    Amazing that this is not being promoted more fully. The hybrid version would have a big reserve of battery power to nip out of trouble; it was to be mains charged, additionally topped up by petrol, LPG or diesel. Oil burners are OK when running as a top up at optimum RPM, second only to LPG. The drive would be electrical in all cases. Rated to 85km. The engine and batteries sit between the ‘floor’ and a ‘false floor’ giving a very low center of gravity. There was to be a Guru model, a 4×4; electrically powered hubs in each wheel. Its an ideal solution in towns with narrow streets, it can be garaged “down the alley in the shed” or in a yard. 16yr old kids can drive one version in the UK. Better by far than a motorbility scooter and easy to put behind a campervan. Nothing here since my last visit on 29 Sept 2004. Yes. I’d like to work with Volpe but in UK’s south west corner not Madrid.

  6. john

    Reply

    I agree with the guy above. Curiously silent in the media.

  7. Jane Benger

    Reply

    would love to have one…where can I purchase one please??

  8. Hector

    Reply

    Yes I would like to purchase one can I get the address and some information

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