Progress is steadily being made to bring the Brazilian-based OBVIO! mini cars to the U.S. through ZAP. The California-based automobile distributor that brought us the SMART fortwo before DaimlerChrysler itself has already prepurchased 50,000 units. And finally we can see the 828 in action in this video of the car tooling around an Orlando parking lot.
Set for production next year, the first model year will be comprised of the 828 and 012 models with flex-fuel engines that can run on 100-percent ethanol, 100-percent gasoline or a combination of both. The Tritec 1.6L four-cylinder motor is mated to a CVT and will reportedly produce 115 horsepower and 149 ft-lbs. of torque while delivering 29.4 mpg city and 40.69 mpg highway running on ethanol. Fuel economy should improve by 10 percent using gasoline, according to OBVIO!. The target price for U.S. consumption of the 828 is $14,000 and the 012E $28,000.
Of more significance is that the second model year will yield all-electric versions of the 828 and 012E that will rival the Tesla Roadster in performance and efficiency. The EVs will have a range of 200 to 240 miles, reach 60 mph in 4.5 seconds or less and hit 120 mph on the high end. They're powered by lithium-ion batteries just like the Tesla Roadster and will start at $49,000 for the 828 and $59,000 for the 012E.
The OBVIO! cars have always seemed one-part promise and one-part hyperbole, but every time we check back in on their progress they seem ever closer to reality. Check out OBVIO!'s webpages for the 828 and 012E and tell us if you see a car as innovative as the Tucker or an overly ambitious attempt to build an automaker from scratch.
[Source: OBVIO! and GreenCarCongress]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Zac @ Jul 21st 2006 10:35AM
SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY NO ONE IS CONSIDERING THE FOLLOWING POSSIBILITY:
1) Get ISO or IEEE to endorse a big 80lb. lithium polymer battery configuration and call it the 'ZZZ' cell or whatever.
2) Make a gazillion of them.
3) Distribute them around the planet to already existing gas stations.
4) Let drivers swap out their empty ZZZ cell batteries for a freshly charged one at any gas station. The gas station attendant will have a special forklift for loading the heavy cell.
5) Drivers place a deposit on their first ZZZ cell, but never actually have to buy one (which is exactly how small propane tanks work now). They are charged some lesser fee; enough to make this practice worthwhile.
NeverNZ @ Jul 21st 2006 10:39AM
I'm feeling cramped just looking at that car.
but 250hp as an option in a 1300lb car, with RWD? sounds fun to me... i just wouldnt drive it on the street
BLS @ Jul 21st 2006 10:43AM
This car is actually pretty cool. I figured it would be a piece of crap dorkmobile with 20 hp. There website makes it seem like a nice package. I would be very interested what it is like to drive with 3 people in the bench seat. Esp. since I am over 6ft.
NeverNZ @ Jul 21st 2006 10:43AM
Zac, that is the best idea i have ever heard, however it would be difficult to implement b/c of basic human nature
but it would really accelerat the EV industry
GOKARTN @ Jul 21st 2006 10:46AM
Interesting....
My car (MINI Cooper)with the tri-tec 1.6 liter with the CVT prefers high octane gasoline. Too bad you can't get it with the standard transmission. Imagine that little car with the 1.6 liter supercharged from the Cooper S. Then add the 210 hp Works kit! I know, I know, that's not the point!
dreesemonkey @ Jul 21st 2006 11:27AM
Wow, very cool. I'm getting more and more excited about these EV cars, once battery technology gets better and cheaper cars like these (except bigger) are definitely going to be the cars of the future. Freaking awesome :)
Chris @ Jul 21st 2006 11:37AM
The music for this demo was terrible. A coworker thought I was watching a porno. Great little vehicle though.
existonfile @ Jul 21st 2006 12:06PM
wow, neat little car. spiritual successor to the crx? just lemme pick a color other than neon green and orange and I'm sold.
Baumann @ Jul 21st 2006 12:07PM
Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing as Zac for awhile now. Take the new Tesla roadster that everyone's so happy about (for what reasons I have NO idea). It gets 250 miles on a charge. That won't even get you from LA to Vegas. (You'd have to stop somewhere in the middle and stay overnight while charging your battery.)
However, given a swappable battery, you could just stop by a gas station, give them your old battery at 20% power and pick up a new one fully charged at some minimal cost. (Maybe $20?) The gas station would just take your old battery, charge it to full, and trade it with someone else.
At $20 for a battery swap, assuming you're getting ~200 miles to a battery, that's 10 miles per dollar, about equivalent to what you'd be spending on gas for a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon. (And you should still be able to charge batteries at home, so you'd only need to swap if you were on a long trip.)
Paulo Becker @ Jul 21st 2006 1:57PM
I just have to wonder, considering that these cars are being made in Brazil, why the HELL have we never heard of them around here.
Rodrigo @ Jul 21st 2006 4:44PM
Great car! If there's a black/black color scheme available, I'm sold!
Sigivald @ Jul 21st 2006 6:16PM
The "battery swap" idea is just like Blue Rhino does for propane bottles... and just like them, I'm sure the markup would be ludicrous.
And then there's the issue of the racks of chargers, and the theft risk (big ol LiI batteries are worth a bit, no?)
Then again, if I was going to buy a 50-odd-grand car, I'd probably get an E320CDI.
That way I'd get a legitimate 40-odd highway MPG in a car that seats four and is much more reassuring in the event of a collision.
(So I guess the real question is - why doesn't DaimlerChrylser sell the C270CDI here?)
trotskyite @ Jul 21st 2006 7:25PM
Does it come in colors that don't make you look like a doofus? Oh, and the flip flop pedals scream class, luxury, and high performance...
ZoomZoomin' @ Jul 21st 2006 8:48PM
Paint an 828 (with the "high-power" powerplant) black, midnight blue metallic, or a charcoal metallic.
Then swap out the interior trim with something a lot less bright/colorful and put in some aluminum pedals (or even just generic black rubber coated ones would still be better).
Finally, toss on some nice rims and you could have yourself could be a pretty cool car that could be tons of fun on a track. Safety issues pretty much eliminate it from contention for a daily driver...I wouldn't help make Death's job that easy. Though I don't know how well (or if) you could fit a cage into something that small (which could possibly kill the acceleration too).
Tom Design @ Jul 22nd 2006 12:59PM
This is so much more attractive than the Smart cars.
John P. Hedin aka DrSmart @ Jul 24th 2006 3:16PM
I hope you don't believe all the hype surrounding this 24 year old Brazilian horse which was originally fitted with an air cooled beetle motor. I have to laugh about the "famous" Niess elliptical safety rings-as used in aircraft design-try Googling the name-nothing comes up except Zap & Obvio press releases. We don't need no stinking plant-all we do is assemble parts from all these famous manufacturers. As for price-Zap's initial estimate for the smart was $15,000 to $25,000 for a 2002 model year, prior generation smart car. Latest Zap smart prices are $25,000 to $29,000. As for mileage estimates -Zap falsely stated that the gas powered smart got 60 MPG when they knew that the EPA had rated the 2002 smart at 37 MPG both City & Highway. The funniest thing is that the obsolete Chrysler(Daimler)/BMW Brazilian Tri-tec motor plant has been sold and is or has been shipped to CHINA. I will be in Rio in Jan 2007-I can't wait to go to the Obvio plant and watch the cars roll off the assembly line-Has the car been crash tested yet-it took G&K Automotive conversions (not Zap) years to certify the smart car-and Millions of $$. Zap is running out of stories,time and money-their stock is back in the basement and I hope their employees have their resumes up to date. Zap's "nationwide" dealer network lists 8 dealers including -2- in RENO NV. Remember that old adage "a fool and his money are soon parted".
John P. Hedin aka DrSmart @ Aug 10th 2006 1:19AM
A late bit of news from Zapworld is that Obvio is looking for European design firms to engineer the revolutionary Obvio. I inquired about a plant visit in Jan 2007-no luck because the "plant" will be under full renovation. How long will it take to engineer, crash test & certify the car. Zap still hasn't been able to get the smart CARB certified for California or New York and have only set up 8 dealers nation wide after more than 2 years. Zap still keeps lying about gas powered smart mileage(60+) by duping the media- the Euro rating for GAS smart 4/2 is from 36-38MPG City- EPA ratings are 37-40 MPG. I estimate the interior width of the Obvio 828-(designed in 1982) at about 58"-I'd like to see 3 full size adults sit in there comfortably-Imagine 3 air bags going off all at once. I'm sure that the flip up side doors will not be too good in a side impact collision. This is just another pie in the sky scheme by Zap to keep their sinking stock afloat.
Me @ Sep 19th 2006 8:21AM
On the battery swap idea - it'd be alright until somebody swaps a duff battery pack into the system - you might not realise until the battery has been charged and used again.
Who loses out - the charging garage
Rick @ Sep 20th 2006 8:56AM
For this car to be a success, it will have to sell in significant numbers here in Brazil. I don´t see it. In most Brazilian cites, people who own cars that run on either ethanol or gasoline find it cheaper to opt for gas. So that´s not a big deal, and all the manufacturers offer flex (bi-fuel)vehicles. Brazilians don´t buy cutesy, they buy value. Gurgel, Puma, Miura, and a number of other small Brazilian auto firms are history.
I like driving my Brazilian/Argentinian Ford/Cummins F-550 Super Duty in downtown traffic. I don´t get the same respect in my wife´s GM Omega/Holden/Opél/Vauxhall. And I get really nervous in my daughter´s Ford Fiesta. If traffic gets too much worse we´ll rebuild our Gama Goat, now parked.....