A front entry, rear engine bubble car which rekindles memories of the 1950s Isetta is making its global debut at the Taiwan EV Show – but this one brings the idea of a low-cost, low-consumption city runabout slap bang into the era of low emissions.
The four wheel, D-Face concept has been created by D Art, a company based in Gifu, near Nagoya in Japan, and is being exhibited by Ecolumen International, an organisation which exists to promote green two way trade between Taiwan and Japan.
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The EV show being held in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, is just the first stop on a world tour for the D-Face, aimed at getting it into production under licence in as many regions as possible. Talks with interested parties in Taiwan, Turkey and Hungary were taking place at the EV show. The prototype was completed in December with the Taiwan show in mind.
The D-Face is a range extender car powered by a 7kW electric motor but with a 3kW petrol generator to double its range from around 95 miles to nearer 190. The top speed of 45mph means it would really be suitable only for city driving. The 10kWh lithium-ion-polymer batteries take eight hours to recharge from a 100 volt socket, but less with a 240 volt supply.
The front entry system – borrowed from cars like the Isetta, Messerschmidt Kabinenroller, Heinkel Kabine and the Isle of Man’s Peel Trident – has been chosen because it makes entry and exit easier for people of all ages and agilities. D Art says the car will meet Japanese crash test regulations but has not yet exposed it to the requirements for other areas of the world.
Bubble cars had their 15 minutes of fame in the late 1950s following the 1956 Suez Crisis and the threat that posed to oil supplies to Europe. But with the return of trade stability – and the arrival of the Mini in 1959 – they became outmoded almost overnight.
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