At roughly the same time that Chevrolet's Volt is expected to hit the market, Italian car body designer Pininfarina promises its own all-electric car, built in partnership with French battery maker Bolloré. The four-passenger vehicle will use a lithium-metal-polymer battery from plants in France and Canada.
The batteries purportedly don't overheat, catch fire or explode--key problems to current lithium-ion technology. On a full charge, the car should have a 155-mile range in city driving with a life expectancy of 120,000 miles for the battery. The car will accelerate from 0 to 31 mph in 4.9 seconds and have a top speed of about 80 mph. It can be recharged with household power outlet. A full charge will take about five hours, while a five-minute jolt will be good for 15.5 miles of range. Company officials didn't project prices. Look for the first models to arrive in 2010.
Sources: AutoWeek, Pininfarina
