Pininfarina-designed B0 electric car debuts at Paris Motor Show

Pininfarina said it was going to build an electric car and, go figure, it's actually built one. As we had heard earlier, the car, now dubbed the B0, is the result of a collaboration with the Bolloré Group, which was mostly responsible for the car's lithium metal polymer battery pack. Pininfarina, for its part, seems to have handled just about everything else, and it sure looks to have gone all out, with the car promising a range of 150 miles and a reasonable top speed of 80 mph, plus some suitably nifty touches like two LCD screens for instrumentation, and even some solar cells on the roof to help top off the battery (most of the charging while driving is done with regenerative braking). Pininfarina is also apparently still ticking to its 2010 roll-out date, with mass production set to begin in late 2009 -- no promises on a price just yet though.

[gonintendo @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:52PM]

That car must have some serious B.O.

[gonintendo @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:53PM]

what a silly comment.

[eagleclaw @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:58PM]

Yes silly indeed but also very necessary.

[Blackstar @ Oct 4th 2008 6:49AM]

Leave it to the designers of Ferraris to make an electric car that does not suck. Just awesome. I very much am looking forward to hearing more about this one in the future.

[gonintendo @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:54PM]

yes, a silly comment indeed.

[gonintendo @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:56PM]

stuoid, you dint clik the rply botton

[ybd @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:10PM]

Engadget in a nutshell.

There should be a feature that lets you Lowest Rank yourself (sigh, now just I'm asking for it...)

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:29PM]

I do it all the time.

[thatguy @ Oct 3rd 2008 5:58PM]

Oh, sorry for interrupting I will leave you four alone.

[White @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:13PM]

well... it looks better then a prius..

that's something, right?

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:30PM]

That doesn't really say much for a Prius, and it doesn't really say much about your eyesight either.

[Russ @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:04PM]

yes, has that sneaker look about it. the prius is designed to maximize the flat space at the bottom of the car for batteries. same issue here i guess..

[allislost @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:16PM]

This is nice, but the real question is, can you wear this... as a hat!

/// People took my "hat" comment too seriously last time so I'll
revert to writing a more understandable comment...

[Smileypanda @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:58PM]

Well, obviously not, since its much too large. An average persons head is roughly 20-24 inches in circumference, while this car is clearly greater than 20 feet in perimeter. Not too mention that the stress placed by such a heavy object upon the head would be quite uncomfortable.

[allislost @ Oct 4th 2008 1:57AM]

Yes... quite...

[happy_penguin @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:23PM]

Way better looking than the Prius and that Nissan thing they posted yesterday.

[Twitchy @ Oct 4th 2008 8:58AM]

Seconded. A a lot more attractive than a Smart For4 or whateverthehell they call it.

[Rob @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:36PM]

Wow, 10 comments and no numb nuts saying "Sure wouldn't want to get hit by a truck in that".

Probably happen before this gets posted though...

[Smileypanda @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:59PM]

I wouldn't want to get hit by a truck in much of anything, really....

[StalematE @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:35PM]

can it park sideways like a smart car?

[craig#2 @ Oct 4th 2008 6:16PM]

I'm on the waiting list for a smart car, but you made me wonder; if I ever did have to park sideways like you mentioned, would there be enough space for me to open the door(s) to get out? It's not too much wider as it is long, so you've got to wonder..

[TareX @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:55PM]

19,224,834,039 adult users have signed off Engadget after seeing the comments on this story.

[sias @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:56PM]

RIP pininfarina.

[RideRed @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:30PM]

RIP Pininfarina? C'mon you couldn't possibly believe that. (Taps on screen, "Hello you home?") One word......Ferrari. 'Nuf said.

[sias @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:30PM]

@RideRed: no i meant andrea pininfarina died a couple of months back. so RIP for him.

[Dylan @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:01PM]

"Sure wouldn't want to get hit by a truck in that".

"I'm obviously no auto aficionado, but I saw a smart car - SUV wreck, not a pretty sight."

"It's too quiet, the elderly will complain."

"This isn't Europe, queers."

"Mine's bigger."

-_-

[Gar @ Oct 3rd 2008 7:14PM]

^^^^^

Good luck driving a big 'ol dong substitute when fuel will cost you $10 a gallon.

The Smart car is one of the safest cars on the road in Europe, 'cause we don't all go driving round in big cars (see above).

To be honest though, I'll believe it when I see them rolling off the line.

I think the oil companies will still want to make more money before they see the proletariat unreliant on oil.

[Dylan @ Oct 3rd 2008 10:02PM]

I meant to reply to Rob's comment, but I love how you picked up the sarcasm. Thank you.

[Denom @ Oct 13th 2008 7:11AM]

It looks sweet . I would like to buy one at a fair price .

[Backlin @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:39PM]

If I lived in an urban area, that would definitely be a car I would want.

[Scott Thatcher @ Oct 3rd 2008 9:00PM]

This looks like a mini Nissan Rogue/Murano while the little Nissan NuVu looks like.... not a nissan.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 4th 2008 3:32AM]

I like the Mirano. Nissan's other cars are so beautiful from the back, the side and then when you get to the front, UGH!! WTF are they thinking?

[Jash Sayani @ Oct 4th 2008 6:59AM]

The front look is just awesome !!!

[David Yang @ Oct 4th 2008 11:32PM]

Its very slow: 0 to 37 mph time of 6.3 seconds. Bolloré hasn't released 0 to 60 mph times, but assume they will be close to 15 seconds.

[rento @ Oct 4th 2008 11:19AM]

2010... I believe it when I see it.

[Ladderless @ Oct 4th 2008 11:44AM]

It looks like it has an effective cushioning system if rear ended... The back seat passengers.


I guess they took a cue from the old VW bus front-end collision protection.

[ABG blogger @ Oct 4th 2008 12:07PM]

Perhaps you should have sourced your post from your AutoblogGreen sister site since it was not only more entertaining than your source but also more informative.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/10/03/paris-2008-pininfarina-and-bollore-debut-the-b0-b-zero-produc/

[ABG blogger @ Oct 4th 2008 12:09PM]

Crap. That came off much more seriously than I meant it. ^_^

[zoara @ Oct 4th 2008 12:40PM]

Angelic

[gob33 @ Oct 5th 2008 12:41AM]

The prototype comes first from Bolloré (called "Blue Car" if you search on internet) with lithium batteries "Batscap". Pininfarina has just redesign it. Bolloré associates with Pininfarina for industrial production. Note that the "Blue Car" was more practical. You can watch a video there : www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgaoWd5WvWI

[HDGMansur Islamic @ Oct 4th 2008 1:08PM]

I give a thumbs up!! I like it.