Renaissance Tropica

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The Renaissance Tropica (later: Xebra / Zebra Model Z Roadster) is a fully electric two-seater passenger car from 1995 , designed by Jim Muir and produced in Florida .

Technical specifications

The vehicle has a welded aluminum - monocoque and a total weight of around 998 kg ( prototype values, the production version should be 200 kg lighter weigh). A total of 12 batteries with a voltage of 6 volts and a capacity of 156 Ah are installed in the center of the vehicle and can be removed. In a prototype test by Car & Driver, the range was approx. 61 km, later owners of the pre-series vehicles report a range of around 83 km. The vehicle is charged exclusively via the normal household 110-volt power supply, a charging cycle takes approx. 6-8 hours.

Is driven by the tropica two DC - electric motors with a power of 24.5 SAE PS mediated via a toothed belt. The vehicle has neither a gearbox nor a differential . It is not possible to recover energy when driving downhill or in order to reduce the driving speed . In order to save weight, the vehicle also has no air conditioning, side windows or door locks. The top speed is around 91 km / h, from 0 to 48 km / h the vehicle needs 5.2 seconds. The targeted retail price for the first small series of 1,200 vehicles was US $ 11,250 each ( approximately US $ 20,147 in 2018, adjusted for inflation ).

production

A pre-series of a total of 16 vehicles was produced and exhibited at various dealers' showrooms. However , there was no series production because the second financing round failed. The company was then bought by actor Don Johnson , renamed Xebra Motors Inc. and was supposed to continue production on the site of the former military airfield in Alameda ( California ), which in the end did not materialize. The vehicle was renamed the Model Z Roadster . The vehicle had a guest appearance in Johnsen's TV series Nash Bridges (season 4, episode 17).

Trivia

The Tropica is the forerunner of the roadster tzero produced by AC Propulsion , which in turn can be considered the inspiration for Tesla's first production vehicle, the Tesla Roadster . Since 2014's Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation in possession of Tropica and makes this model in their Route 66 EV Museum in Kingman ( Arizona ) on display.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ eBay Find of the Day: 1995 Renaissance Tropica electric car - Autoblog. December 10, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 .
  2. ^ The Answer Page. October 18, 2008, accessed December 10, 2018 .
  3. ^ Tropica Car & Driver Article. December 10, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 .
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181210115532/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/1999/07/19/story5.html. Retrieved December 10, 2018 .
  5. ↑ IMCDb .org: Zebra Model Z Roadster in "Nash Bridges, 1996-2001". December 10, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Elon Musk on Twitter: "Major credit to AC Propulsion for the tzero electric sports car 1997-2003 that inspired Tesla Roadster. Without that, Tesla wouldn't exist or would have started much later.… Https://t.co/ Ym5lh1HGEw ". December 10, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Acquisitions & Arrivals | Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation. December 10, 2018, accessed December 10, 2018 .