Liv Inizio: Grandmother of electric sports cars

By Rory Reid on 16 March 2009, 12:06pm

Electric cars are supposed to have funky, exotic-sounding names like Lightning, Tesla, G-Wiz and, er, Quant, right? Not according to US company EV Innovations -- its latest electric sports car, the Liv Inizio, sounds like a black-clad Italian widow, a formidable old lady with a face like a walnut and a mean clip around the ear.

Let's not dismiss it straight away. The car will come in both all-electric and hybrid petrol-electric forms. The all-electric version will use a lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor, while the hybrid model will sport an Ethanol-powered V12 engine churning out a frankly disturbing 1,000bhp. And an electric motor.

The car's pretty attractive. It's reminiscent of the iconic Honda NSX, a rear mid-engined sports car whose development was assisted by legendary Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Whether the chassis is as good as the NSX's remains to be seen, but the fact it's pretty lightweight -- 136kg lighter than a Tesla Roadster -- is a good omen.

The all-electric model's lithium-ion battery pack has a recharge time of 8 hours and a range of 200 miles. Its motor promises a 0-60mph time of 5 seconds and a top speed of 150mph. We've no idea how fast the V12 hybrid model accelerates, but we're gessing fast. A top speed of 240mph is mooted.

The Inizio will be on show at the New York Auto Show from 10 April. We'll bring you more as we get it.