With electric vehicles becoming the rage these days, it could very well signal a turning of the guard in the auto industry with EVs taking the forefront in an industry that’s putting a premium on fuel efficient vehicles.
We’ve already seen models like the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf out on the market with some more automakers set to follow suit. But while those designs have placed importance on new school technology and cutting edge design, a little automaker from Japan wants to prove that we can still have the new benefits of electricity while also paying homage to the design elements of yesteryear.
By all accounts, the Takayanai Miluira – yeah, we’ve never heard of ‘em before either – is a nice open-top that plays itself to the role as a little hobby car. You’re not silly enough to bring this car out on the highway, but as far as the local blocks are concerned, the Miluira is an ideal choice for those town joyrides a lot of people, including us, seem to enjoy.
Details after the jump.
Exterior and Interior
We already touched on the classic design of the Miluira, which hints at and resembles a lot of the rides that were around at the turn of the 20th century. The car is a one-seater that measures 2.18 meters long with vintage styling on both the exterior and the interior. The car’s steering column also comes with a wooden finish – or is it plastic? – that definitely adds a lot of old-school texture to it.
Performance
The Miluira is powered by lead-acid batteries that translate to a range of 22 miles with a top speed of 37 mph, making it perfect for short commutes to the supermarket, dry cleaners, or even to a buddy’s house a few blocks away. If you want to reduce the car’s weight, make it faster, and give it more mileage, you can simply do away with the lead-acid batteries and replace them with lithium-ions.
Pricing
For a car that relies on fuel efficiency and a cute throwback design, the car’s price tag of around $75,000 seems a little absurd. But if you have some extra change lying around amounting to that much money, who’s stopping you from splurging on this electric toy car.
Competition
On one hand, seeing as the Miluira is an electric vehicle, you can make the case that it’s competing against the aforementioned Leaf and Volt EVs from Nissan and Chevrolet, respectively. On the other hand, the market segment of this little Japanese EV roadster is completely different from the more mainstream market of the two bigger brands. So while you can say that their competitors in one way, their target markets are completely different from each other, and so are the prices.
Posted on
03.30.2011 @ 01:14