Breaking: Dodge EV sports car, range-extended Town & Country, Wrangler previewed

[Intrepidation]

CNBC's Phil Lebeau got a sneak peek at the new EVs Chrysler is developing, and it looks like Auburn Hills is pulling a Tesla, among other things. The yellow Dodge EV you see here is basically an electrified Lotus Europa. Presumably equipped with lithium ion battery power, the Dodge EV has a reported operating range of 150 - 200 miles and can be plugged in to household 110 or 220 outlets. Figure a four-hour charge on the latter, and 8 or so on the former. Zero-to-sixty is said to be under 5 seconds. Like we said, this is basically Chrysler's Tesla, right down to the Lotus-sourced donor vehicle.

We'll see the Dodge EV introduced formally later this afternoon, along with range-extended EV versions of the Chrysler Town & Country (can you say, "killer app"?) and Jeep Wrangler. With regard to timing, Chrysler says it would like to have "at least one" of these vehicles on the market by the end of 2010, the unofficial official year of the electric/plug-in car.

Look for all three prototypes to head to D.C., where they'll be showcased for Congressional leaders who have a say in whether or not Washington will show Detroit the money they've been asking for.

For now, you can watch the preview unveiling of the cars on CNBC by watching this video. Chrysler's got something planned for 1PM today, so we expect to have a lot more info and photos then. Stay tuned.

Source: Autoblog

[siegen]

What drivetrain are they using for the EV T&C? Are they developing their own?

2010, the unofficial official year of the electric/plug-in car

Gotta love the media. Makes for great headlines.

[!!!TED!!!]

A Lotus Europa with Dodge badges and racing stripes?

A T&C with bling wheels and HUGE Chrysler EV script?

OOkaay there Chrysler. Good job!

Way to jump on the electric bandwagon.

[A Horse With No Name]

Cool!

Chris

[Intrepidation]

A Lotus Europa with Dodge badges and racing stripes?

A T&C with bling wheels and HUGE Chrysler EV script?

OOkaay there Chrysler. Good job!

Way to jump on the electric bandwagon.

The Lotus bodywork is no doubt just a test mule like the 2nd gen Malibu with Volt hardware was a mule. It doesn't even have a crosshair grille.

Also, like the Tahoe Hybrid is and better with it's massive stickers?

[Brougham-Holiday]

Its nice to see Chrysler trying to become competitive. I hope this works because a strong GM needs a strong Ford and Chrysler.

[Satty]

Breaking and Chrysler just go together in a headline so well.

[pow]

Very nice. This makes the Evora, T&C, and Wrangler even more interesting than their gasoline counterparts (400 lb-ft in a minivan?!). Electrification of the automobile doesn't mean we'll all be driving horrid ecoboxes..

[GXT]

Way to jump on the electric bandwagon.

Chrysler claimes they've been working on this for two years. That's about the same as GM. They just didn't spend all their time talking about it. As they appear as far along if not farther than GM, I have no reason to doubt them.

[pow]

Chrysler claimes they've been working on this for two years. That's about the same as GM. They just didn't spend all their time talking about it. As they appear as far along if not farther than GM, I have no reason to doubt them.

Yes, they promise at least 100 for government/business/fleet use in 2009, and at least one production EV model in 2010.

[§carlet §wordfish]

The Europa looks like a Stratus Coupe anyway, so it's just come full-circle.

The engine compartment does look impressive. I hope it can deliver what Mopar claims.

[SoCalCTS]

Is this the car that they are building with General Electric?