Volvo Voltage
October 20, 2004 | Levent OZLER
Last week at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum--an annual competition among environmentally friendly vehicles, held this year in Shanghai--Volvo introduced the 3CC coupe, a sleek electric vehicle prototype.
Volvo, which is owned by Ford Motor, has not released information as to whether the 3CC will in fact go into production, but the vehicle is certainly appealing. It has an attractive, tapered shape that allows for a three-seat interior. Volvo said in a statement that two adults can sit in the 3CC's front, while a "unique rear seat" accommodates "an additional adult or two children."
An electric motor powers the 3CC, and it runs on 3,000 lithium-ion cells, batteries which are identical to those used in modern laptop computers. The motor allows the 3CC to have a top speed of over 85 mph and acceleration from 0 mph to 62 mph in approximately ten seconds--with zero emissions.
Like Volvo's narrow Tandem concept (see: "Volvo's Narrow Vision"), which the company unveiled in May, the 3CC was designed by the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center in Camarillo, Calif. By placing a design studio in California (the state that also houses Volvo's American headquarters) and repeatedly tapping it to design prototypes, Volvo is demonstrating the centrality of the American car market--the largest for Volvo cars by a substantial margin--
more: forbes.com/execpicks/2004/10/19/cx_dl_1019vow.html (255)
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