Protoscar Lampo3 electric prototype

Protoscar Lampo3 electric prototype

Protoscar isn’t new to designing and building electric car prototypes. The Swiss firm, who specializes in design and engineering, has previously revealed the Lampo and the Lampo2, both prototypes for electric sports cars.

For 2011, the firm has taken a new direction with the Lampo3, stretching the car to make it a 2+2 instead of a two-seater, and adding a removable, Targa-style roof panel.  The Lampo3’s styling is a bit more mainstream than their earlier prototypes, and the design appears to be influenced by the iconic Citroen DS. 

Styling aside, it’s what’s under the composite body and space frame that counts. The Lampo3 uses two motors in the rear and a single motor up front, and Protoscar claims a combined power output of 560 horsepower and 664 foot pounds of torque.

The twin-rear-motor-design allows for torque vectoring, which allows power to be sent to the rear  wheels individually,  based on available traction.

In other words, using dual motors in the rear improves both horsepower and handling, and the centrally mounted, actively cooled lithium ion battery array ensures ideal weight distribution.

Protoscar hasn’t documented the performance specifications of the Lampo3, but speculates that the car can run from zero to sixty-two miles per hour in just 4.5 seconds, yet return an estimated range of 124 miles on a single charge (when driven more conservatively, of course). An onboard charger ensures that the Lampo3 can receive power from a variety of sources, and the car is capable of being quick charged on a Level 3 system.

For now, the Lampo3 is just a prototype, but Protoscar is gauging customer interest to determine if a limited production run is feasible.

(World Car Fans)