Venturi Volage Concept Showcased at NAIAS 2010

The result of the collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Volage concept was showcased at this year’s North American International {Ad}Auto Show (NAIAS). The Volage benefits from Michelin Active Wheel technology that incorporates 2 electric motors per wheel (1 for suspension and 1 for drive).

Completely made of carbon fiber, the car weighs just 1,075 kg, enabling it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds.

Inside, the car, which is likely to see production in limited series sometime in 2012, boasts a touch screen dashboard that allows the driver to configure the vehicle as he wishes. The driver can, for example, decide to give preference in certain cases to range rather than power, comfort rather than speed, an important factor for an electric car.

“Active suspensions and motors incorporated into the wheels, a flat bottom, aerodynamic tunnels: these choices and  technological advances have

enabled me to “design the void” usually occupied by the engine and suspensions, and thus explore audacious new paths in terms of styling,” Sacha Lakic, designer of Volage, said in a release.

“The void is part of the Volage style; it has been designed by subtraction. Volage has been fashioned by the wind. The science of aerodynamics is the main tool that has been used to elaborate its shape. It is easy and enjoyable to imagine the movement of flows of air, on and across its bodywork,” Lakic added.

“Volage finds itself in a totally original and decidedly contemporary formal category. It inspires passion: its powers of seduction are immense,” concluded Lakic.