Whilst the idea of an electric sports car (or simply electric fast car, witness the 100 km/h record-breaker back in 1899) is not new, not much thought have been given so far to consider electric vehicle (EV) fundamentals as sports car material…
Blending sporting heritage with EV leading expertise, Mitsubishi Motors has just taken that upside down view to create the clear removable top Mitsubishi i MiEV Sport Air Concept, premiered at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.
One step beyond being merely green, this zero on-road CO2 emission racy concept builds upon those EV fundamentals, marrying:
the powerful accelerations and high torque inherent to electric motors,
the safe driving dynamics that stem from i MiEV’s lithium-ion battery pack, ideally located within its long wheelbase and the low center of gravity it therefore implies.
Tech look
A joint effort between Mitsubishi Motors design studios in Okazaki (exterior), Okazaki and Cypress, California (interior) as well as Tokyo (execution), the zero CO2 emission Mitsubishi i MiEV Sport Air Concept is a relative to the acclaimed and equally zero CO2 emission 2007 i MiEV Sport show car.
Longer (+ 20 cm) and taller (+ 12 cm), it trades the cheeky look of its predecessor for a more technical approach of its teardrop shape: from the clamshell effect of its deep(er) windshield + diminutive bonnet to the shaper shape of its front end – complete with an inverted Jet Fighter “grille”, or the flush glazing over the B-pillar.
