Photo: Elio Motors
The news that Elio Motors was working on a 0.9-liter 3-cylinder engine prototype made us jump for joy in February, as we knew the unit would power an affordable three-wheeler while only taking a toll of 84 mpg.
Now, we can relive the joy as the company officially announced "it had begun work on its fifth generation prototype vehicle following a successful supplier summit meeting here last week." As expected, the P5 prototype will feature the 0.9-liter engine we mentioned earlier and will return a theoretical 84 mpg (2.8 l/100 km) fuel consumption.
According to company officials, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as 26 more prototypes will follow the P5, codenamed P6 through P30, required for testing and validation purposes.
Besides the new IAV engine, Elio's three-wheeler will use a Multi-mode Manual Transmission from Aisin.
"The engine and transmission are key elements in creating driving characteristics that consumers demand. Fuel economy is obviously important, but we still need speed and acceleration that are comparable to today's passenger vehicles. Both the engine and transmission put us well on this path," said Paul Elio, founder and CEO of Elio Motors.
Speaking of acceleration, the new Elio P5 needs 9.6 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill while the vehicle's top speed will supposedly go over 100 mph (160 km/h).
In terms of pricing, the company's vision on the 'affordable' tag lies in a sticker of $6,800 for the Elio P5. However, Elio Motors is targeting a launch date situated in mid-2016, which means we'll have to wait at least another year for the car to pop up.
According to company officials, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as 26 more prototypes will follow the P5, codenamed P6 through P30, required for testing and validation purposes.
Besides the new IAV engine, Elio's three-wheeler will use a Multi-mode Manual Transmission from Aisin.
"The engine and transmission are key elements in creating driving characteristics that consumers demand. Fuel economy is obviously important, but we still need speed and acceleration that are comparable to today's passenger vehicles. Both the engine and transmission put us well on this path," said Paul Elio, founder and CEO of Elio Motors.
Speaking of acceleration, the new Elio P5 needs 9.6 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill while the vehicle's top speed will supposedly go over 100 mph (160 km/h).
In terms of pricing, the company's vision on the 'affordable' tag lies in a sticker of $6,800 for the Elio P5. However, Elio Motors is targeting a launch date situated in mid-2016, which means we'll have to wait at least another year for the car to pop up.
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