So you want an electric sports car but don’t have $98,000 to drop on a Tesla Roadster? Never fear, the ZAP Alias is here. Almost. Maybe.
The company known for its funky Xebra electric commuter cars said it will break into the high-performance market with a 320-horsepower, three-wheeled sports car by mid-2009. That timeline seems wildly optimistic, if not downright impossible, given that ZAP only recently invited suppliers to design components for the $30,000 car.
"Right now … it takes GM and Toyota three-to-five years all told
to go from a clean-sheet to vehicles selling on showroom floors,"
said
Aaron Bragman, an auto industry analyst with Global Insight who
worked for nearly a decade as both a salesman for a parts supplier
and a buyer for an automaker. "And this is with staffs of trained
engineers, processes, plants and suppliers already in place."
Nevertheless, ZAP — which has a history of phantom announcements
— said it can meet that deadline.
"Looking at our initial project development plan and our discussion
with a number of key engineering and technology partners, I believe
we can go into production by the second quarter of 2009," said
Albert Lam, former CEO of Lotus Engineering and chairman of the
joint venture developing the Alias.
Lotus Engineering
helped develop the Tesla Roadster, and ZAP says it’s lending a hand
with the Alias. The car looks good — from a performance, if not an
aesthetic, perspective — on paper.
ZAP says the Alias will feature two in-wheel motors producing 320 horsepower, giving the car a zero to 60 time of 5.7 seconds. It claims the Alias will have a top speed approaching 120 mph and a range of "at least" 150 miles per charge.
"The performance goals are attainable because the pace of new technology is accelerating," said Steve Schneider, the company’s chief executive officer.
ZAP says it is considering options like fast-charge capacity and a hybrid range extender.
The idea for the Alias was hatched last year when ZAP started developing the $60,000 ZAP-X crossover utility vehicle that ZAP plans to launch later this year.
ZAP and China Youngman Automotive Group — one of China’s leading bus manufacturers — have launched a joint venture to build the Alias, which will be sold under a new brand name. Lam said the Alias will be built on Youngman’s assembly lines. ZAP says it will outline its progress on the Alias at the National Automobile Dealers Association conference in February.
You can also get valuable information about Best of Vodka Online, Treating Arthritis with Viox,Visiting Hadrian,Arcadia Books
