Electric cars: a chic niche...Yahoo Autos Article

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Shopping for an EV?

Bring Lots of Money and Patience

By Bradley Berman provided by:

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Venturi Fétish-- Since the infamous demise of the major carmakers' electric vehicle programs, there's been a vacuum in the niche market of zero-emissions, all-electric vehicles. We're not talking about the so-called "neighborhood electric vehicles," which have top speeds of about 25 mph. We mean the fast and fully functional vehicles that can provide everything you need in a car—without the global warming gases and other tailpipe pollutants.


A new breed of small, scrappy carmakers isn't waiting for the majors to take the lead. These companies are all facing the same bumps along the road to market acceptance: price, production issues, line expansion, maintenance, and warranties. The field of available EVs is limited, but if you're serious about going all-electric, here is a rundown of the latest offerings.



Venturi Fétish
$400,000, just 25 units per year

The folks at Monaco-based Venturi Automobiles have used two strategies to overcome the problems of producing a high-performance, all-electric luxury sports car: Manufacture only 25 units per year and charge $400,000 for each one. The Venturi Fétish, described by the company as "the first production electric sports car in automobile history," can bolt from 0 – 60 in 4.3 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 105 mph. The physics behind this level of performance: 330 horsepower pushing a carbon-fiber vehicle weighing only 2,425 pounds.


When its 100 Lithium-Ion battery packs are topped off, the Fétish can go 220 miles before needing a recharge, according to Venturi. A rapid battery charge is available, yielding about one mile of driving for every minute of juice. Venturi has taken the guesswork out of knowing how much charge is left by teaming up with Intel to create a wireless information system that remotely monitors energy status, as well as other critical data.


But before you write a deposit check, you might consider that the Fétish is not yet certified for American roads. Also, customers must take delivery in Monaco and are responsible for transporting the vehicle to the United States … or anywhere else, for that matter. Orders are being taken now. Delivery takes about a year.