Chrysler enters the Electric Vehicle fray with sizzling hot Dodge Circuit
(Source: AutoBlogGreen, CNNMoney)
Dodge Circuit, a two-seat roadster, could be Chrysler’s first step into electric cars, provided the company survives.
A battery-powered 268-horsepower two-seat sports car is in line to become Chrysler LLC’s first electric car, provided the carmaker lives to see another day.
To survive, help is needed from Italy’s Fiat but, as negotiations with the Italian automaker bog down and the two week deadline to hammer out a partnership approaches, the company’s future – as well as its aspirations for an electric hot rod – are increasingly in doubt.
Chrysler’s first electric car, set to be introduced late next year around the same time as General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt, will be a sports car with a zero-to-60 time of under five seconds and a top speed of 120 miles hour.
It looks like the Dodge Circuit EV may have won the “who wants to be the first electric Chrysler concept to go into production” contest. Although they still haven’t officially made an announcement, Chrysler’s viability plan did list an “EV Roadster” as part of their 2010 product line. Based on the lightweight Lotus Europa and using drivetrain parts pilfered from UQM, the concept drew some fairly positive responses when it took on the newDodge Challenger in an impromptu drag race and later, when it got its crosshair makeover. Its 150 to 200 mile range is significantly higher than many other electric vehicles in the works and should add to its appeal.
“To be able to meet a 2010 timeline, you have to be pretty far along in development, and right now we are,” said Lou Rhodes, head of Chrysler’s electric car program, in a recent CNNMoney.com interview.
The Circuit is similar to the Tesla Roadster, a $109,000 sports car produced by a small California company. Pricing for the Circuit has not been announced but will likely undercut the Tesla.
