Special Coverage
Geneva
Auto Show
PARIS – Renault SA’s scooter-like Twizy concept will make an appearance at this year’s Geneva auto show, but it won’t be the more production-ready version the auto maker displayed in November at an alternative-fuel conference in Valladolid, Spain, where the 2-seater will be built next year.
The Valladolid version of the Twizy is more basic than the concept first seen at the Frankfurt auto show in September. Renault has said the variant is “close to a possible series vehicle.”
The Valladolid car did not have the wheel covers, demi-doors or massive front electronic display of the show car, but rather sported a simplified interior.
It was not entirely free of lighthearted touches, however. The headlights were in the form of a “+” sign and the taillights in a “–” sign, in a nod toward the vehicle’s electric power.
The Twizy, which is expected to have a Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. counterpart, is aimed at urban consumers.
It measures 90.6 ins. (230 cm) long, 44.5 ins. (113 cm) wide and has a small turning radius. The 20-hp motor delivers 51.6 ft.-lb. (70 Nm) of torque, which will give it the acceleration of a typical 125 cc scooter and a top speed of 46.4 mph (75 km/h), Renault says.
Range is 62 miles (100 km) from a small lithium-ion battery that takes only 3.5 hours to recharge from a standard 220-volt outlet, the auto maker says.
