Team Velozzi creating sexy Automotive X-Prize participant

While we've seen a couple of entrants into the Automotive X-Prize competition so far, Team Velozzi has announced a showstopper of a vehicle that will reportedly be created for the contest. Aiming to craft a vehicle that gets around 200 miles-per-gallon and receives locomotion from potent Li-ion batteries, the R&D group's potential participant currently resembles vehicles from some of the more exotic of automakers. Curiously, the company's website insinuates that it wants the vehicle to be "mainstream," but with specs consisting of a full carbon-fiber body / chassis, Brembo brakes and racing suspension, a multi-format hybrid energy system, "high-end interior," a Weismann F1 transmission, and twin AC electric engines, we can't exactly imagine this supercar fitting into the average joe's (or jane's) budget. Still, there's no denying the sexy regardless of cost, so be sure to hit the links below to get a more in-depth view of Velozzi's forthcoming automobile.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

[Matt @ Apr 27th 2007 12:22PM]

And is a total knock off of the Ferrari 360 and F430...

[OBM @ Apr 27th 2007 12:27PM]

lol glad someone else realised ;)

[OBM @ Apr 27th 2007 12:23PM]

Ferrari rang, they said they want their F430 design back...

[Frankenstein Black @ Apr 27th 2007 12:23PM]

Nice look! Make those body parts solar pannels, price it around 50k and call it The Tesla 2.0 SR (Solar Reactor). You know the planed "Energy Positive" Ride ...

[Frankenstein Black @ Apr 27th 2007 12:25PM]

*** as he slowly retrieves from rem back to deeeep sleep***

[drummerjoe @ Apr 27th 2007 12:34PM]

A full carbon-fiber body & chassis? That is going to be like strapping a rocket to a cardboard box!

[mawcs @ Apr 27th 2007 2:46PM]

I guess the McLaren F1 is a rocket strapped to a cardboard box that held the fastest production car record for a long time.

Or maybe, a carbon-fiber chassis/body is actually a good idea, if you can afford it.

[Nick @ Apr 27th 2007 12:49PM]

Cardboard box? Carbon fiber is just a bit stronger than that, methinks.

That'll also add, what, 80G?, to price just for materials costs alone....

[drummerjoe @ Apr 27th 2007 12:54PM]

Of course it's stronger than cardboard, but it isn't going to protect you at all in any type of accident.

[nh @ Apr 27th 2007 4:58PM]

drummerjoe, do you even know what carbon fibre is? It has near enough the highest specific strength of any engineering material and makes a superb crash structure. It provides an extremely strong safety cell and absorbs huge amounds of energy when it breaks. What more do you want?

[drummerjoe @ Apr 27th 2007 2:50PM]

Carbon Fiber is used primarily in racing scenes (Indy, Formula One, etc), because carbon fiber's strength:weight ratio is excellent. But you are not seeing OEM's manufacture 100% of their bodies/chassis in carbon fiber because carbon fiber is typically only strong in 1 direction. I am highly skeptical that a body/chassis of 100% carbon fiber is going to pass all the FMVSS standards. And if it doesn't, then it's nothing more than a concept car, not viable in the marketplace, which is one of the primary goals of the project.

[drummerjoe @ Apr 27th 2007 2:57PM]

The McLaren F1 features a carbon fiber chassis and a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber body.

[idfk @ Apr 27th 2007 8:44PM]

Looks like an extremely ugly version of the Ferrari 360 modena.

[Fire Hazard @ Apr 28th 2007 6:24PM]

Looks like a Ferrari P4/5 combined with a Ferrari F430.