We are extremely pleased to see more and more independent manufacturers designing and building their own cars. While they will never challenge the ‘establishment’, they are a breath of fresh air in an industry where everybody is copying everybody else, both in terms of design, as well as technology.
It is therefor with great joy that we are showing you this very promising EV, which is designed and built in Portugal. The Veeco RT is the brainchild of a Portuguese company called VE (Fabricação de Veículos de Tracção Eléctrica), in collaboration with the Lisbon University of Engineering.
It is basically a trike, with two wheels at the front and one driven wheel at the back. Power comes from an electric motor which puts out 108 hp and 450 Nm (331 lb-ft). This gives the RT spritely performance, achieving 100 km/h (62 mph) in around 8 seconds and tops out at 160 km/h (100 mph). Also, the latin passion with which it has been designed is clearly evident, setting apart from most other EVs which are awkward and boxy-looking.
Juice is drawn from one of two available battery packs: 16 kWh and 200 km (125 mile) range, 48 kWh and 400 km (250 miles). Pricing is yet to be announced, but it should be announced in the second half of the year, with deliveries pegged to begin in mid-2013.
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