Meet (again) the 1967 electric Ford Comuta [w/video]

Forty-four years ago, Ford Motor Company unveiled a battery-powered concept car called the Comuta at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show. At that time, Ford of Britain, the developer of the concept, claimed that "millions" of "cars like the Comuta could be available in five to ten years." Needless to say, that didn't happen.

Shortly after publishing our first piece on the Comuta, the team over at Autopia got in touch with Ford and dug up more on the pint-sized electric. It turns out that the Comuta's rear wheels were driven by dual DC electric motors that put out a mere five horsepower and juice was supplied by four 12-volt lead-acid batteries. The Comuta measured in at a scant 6 feet, 8 inches long and was advertised as having a turning radius of 18 feet. At the vehicle's unveiling, Ford of Britain's assistant managing director, Leonard Crossland, stated:

We expect electric cars to be commercially feasible within the next 10 years, although we believe their uses will be primarily as city-center delivery vans and suburban shopping cars.

And that's almost identical to what automakers are still telling us today. Hop the jump to catch some classic footage of the electric Comuta.

[Source: Autopia]