Pininfarina Nido EV | Electric Cars Report

Pininfarina Nido EV Prototype

Electric Car News | admin | May 21, 2010 at 11:23 am

Pininfarina has unveiled the Nido EV electric city car, as part of the Italian design firm’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

The Nido EV, a small city car (marginally larger than a Smart), has 2 seats and a permanent magneto rear engine.

The “Nido Development Programme” also envisages the development of two more, slightly larger versions: the first will be a hybrid with an endothermic engine positioned at the front and an electrical engine at the rear; the second will be electric with a front engine.

In both cases, the position of the engine makes it possible to increase roominess to seat 4, and to improve weight distribution.

When fully charged, it has a range of 140 km (87 miles) and a top speed of 120 km/h or 75mph (limited electronically), and accelerates 0-60 km/h (0-37mph) in 6.7 seconds.

The Nido EV is powered by a Zebra Z5 Ni-NaCl battery, which Pininfarina says is notable for containing no polluting chemicals and being 100 percent recyclable. Despite the 21.2 kilowatt-hour capacity, the battery weighs only 400 pounds.

The prototype is also equipped with “green” tyres, developed by Pirelli paying particular attention to safety, environmental sustainability and saving.