French car designer Venturi, strong on the success of their Fetish electric sportscar, has added two new models to the brand. The Venturi Eclectic, and the Venturi Astrolab, both launched at the 2006 Paris Auto Show.

Venturi Eclectic

The Eclectic is a commuter electric vehicle, designed to be self-charging, with on board solar panels and a small wind generator. The look of the 3 seater is pretty bold, and according to designer Sasha Lakic was inspired by such iconic vehicles as the Mini-moke, the Mehari and even the Lunar Rover. The top speed is electronically limited to 50km and the range is the same, with the added bonus that the vehicle is constantly recharging whenever there is a bit of wind or sunshine.

Eclectic, the first autonomous vehicle in the history of the automobile, opens up a new era in the field of mobility : reserved for daily driving in urban areas, its low energy consumption make it the most economical environmental vehicle ever built. Innovative and astonishing, Eclectic is much more than a simple vehicle ; it is a production and storage plant for renewable energies, either solar or wind based. Charging of these energies, which is intermittent in certain regions, can also be complemented by electrical recharging.

A limited production run of 200 vehicles will be available in June 2007, priced at 24,000 € with full production in 2008. I wonder if they will have an importer for California.

Venturi Astrolab

The Venturi Astrolab is a Solar Sportscar or to be exact it's categorized as a 4 wheel motorcycle, capable of reaching speeds of  120 km/h and a range of 100 km. The Astrolab was described by designer Sacha Lakic as a flying wing set on four wheels.

Astrolab also opens up a new era as regards automobile architecture : light and high-profiled, it offers the rays of the sun 3.6 m2 of today’s most sophisticated photovoltaic cells (for an overall vehicle length under 4 m).

The Venturi Astrolab is still at the concept stage, but I hope it will make it into production.