The Prius paved the way for stylish green cars, but we are seeing the rollout of electric vehicles that would not be out of place in the opening scene of a James Bond film. Tesla’s electric Roadster has gotten rave reviews: “The car looks hot and rides hot. It’s a smile machine”, Scientific America’s reviewer says.
Morgan Motor’s fuel-cell electric prototype, the LIFECar, is now in prototype form eliciting reactions at a recent Morgan show in Pebble Beach. Morgan, the (cult) classic English carmaker that limits production of its 1930s-style roadsters to a few thousand a year, is developing the project in connection with Qinetiq. Very sleek, retro-chic (and, more than likely, prohibitively expensive), the Lifecar will set a new standard for green vehicles when it makes its long awaited debut.
The divide between fuel-efficiency and consumer has been bridged with such prototypes. Now the main problem is affordability. Both of these specimens will market at well over $100,000.
