Saturday, May 23, 2009

BRUSA shows off all-electric Spyder

BRUSA Spyder


BRUSA, a Swiss electronics company, recently attended the EVS 24 conference in Stavanger, Norway, with an electric sportscar called the Spyder in tow. Although we aren't sure what chassis lurks underneath, our best guess is that this machine is based on either a rear-engined Volkswagen or possibly a Porsche 914, and it obviously takes styling cues from the classic Porsche 550 Spyder – never a poor route to take as far as we're concerned.

Powered by a couple of 95 kW electric motors – one for each rear wheel – the Spyder is reportedly capable of scooting to 60 miles per hour in under 5 seconds. Power comes from a 16 kWh lithium polymer battery pack from Kokam, which is enough juice to provide for a range of 125 kilometers (77 miles) at 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per hour). Of course, the car's actual range is dependent on a number of factors, so BRUSA helpfully provides a chart to figure it all out.

A liquid-cooled charger resides underhood, along with all the rest of the assorted electronic goodies to make it all work, and a full charge reportedly takes four hours when plugged in to a 16-amp, 220-volt outlet. No word on whether or not the car has any chance of production, but even though it has our interest piqued, we're not exactly holding our breath.

[Source: BRUSA, Wired]