Protoscar's Goodies for Geneva: Electric Car with 268 HP!

Since we're sure that the name doesn't tell you too much about the company, you should probably know that Protoscar SA is a design firm particularly focused on CleanCars and based in Rovio, Ticino, Switzerland. Although its current 14-employee workforce may suggest a pretty small company, Protoscar promises to unveil one of the most powerful electric cars ever produced. The launch is going to take place at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show on March 2, 2009, the company said in a statement for the press.

The car, dubbed LAMPO, is powered by two electric BRUSA engines, one of them mounted on the rear while the other one is installed on the front side of the car. Both engines are optimized for maximum acceleration and regenerative braking, which is a must have for an electric vehicle.

In terms of performance, the engine develops a maximum power of 268 hp plus a constant torque of over 440 Nm from 0 to 5,500 rpm, according to figures given by Protoscar. The lightweight lithium-ion battery pack installed on the car has a capacity of 35 kWh and is capable of providing an autonomy of 200 km without the need for a recharge. In addition, a remote 16 kWh photovoltaic unit based on silicon solar cells produces an estimated 18,000 kWh per year, which should be enough for covering nearly 50,000 km per year, the manufacturer said. This would allow the car to save 12 tons of CO2 “at a lower km-price than gasoline and diesel,” it said.

“The extremely high energy efficiency of the whole system allows to transform over 80% of each kWh produced by the photovoltaic plant into driven km: 3 times better than the best internal combustion cars can do with diesel fuel! Never before such ultimate zero-emission performances have been demonstrated at such excellent level of overall Well-to-Wheel efficiency – and on top of it without any drop of oil!” Protoscar said in the statement.