Electric Eclectic

The Venturi eclectic Concept Car was one of the big surprises of the Paris Automobile Show of 2006—an energy-autonomous electric vehicle, the first of its kind. Designed by Sacha Lakic for the Monaco-based company Venturi Automobiles, the Eclectic is slated to start rolling off the assembly line at Venturi’s new factory in Sable-sur-Sarthe, in western France, by the end of this year. A specialist in electric and solar vehicles, Venturi also produces the Fetish, an electric sportscar; and, in partnernship with PSA Peugeot Citroën, the Berlingo First, developed for France’s postal service. In February the company was awarded the Special Festival Prize at the International Automobile Festival in Paris, by a jury headed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Formula One driver Alain Prost.

Although the new Eclectic is a bit smaller than the original car-show concept version, it still operates as a mini production and storage plant for renewable energy, using both solarpanels and deployable wind turbine—think propeller beanie—and it’s also equipped with an on-board charger that can be plugged into any ordinary electrical socket. The driver’s seat is in the center of the passenger compartment, with two passenger seats slightly farther back on either side. Witha  hexagonal windshield almost as big as the car itself, the snazzy little urban Eclectic looks a little like a Star Wars robot, wearing a wide, ecologically friendly smile.

Prices start at €15, 000, www.venturi.fr

Originally published in the April 2009 issue of France Today