2010 Chevrolet Volt

The Age

Saturday September 20, 2008

Barry Park

REMEMBER the Volt, Chevrolet's blue-aura, futuristic electric car concept that wowed the world at the Detroit Motor Show last year? Well, this is also the Volt. However, this is how it will look in showrooms around the world.

So what will we get? Like most jaw-dropping show cars, the concept Volt was a flight of fancy. The final shape loses some of the concept's hard edges, the glasshouse lifts from letterbox to lightbox proportions, and the compact, slit-like headlights grow to wide slashes that cut into each fender. Air intakes on the concept make way for an integrated turning and running light assembly, and the "V" in the "Volt" badge on the boot gets a lightning bolt running through it.

The Volt will recharge using either a plug that hooks into a conventional wall socket, or a 1.4-litre "range extender" petrol engine that will run a generator.

The production car is expected to land in Australia at some point after its US debut, costing about $45,000 - or slightly more expensive than a Prius hybrid that sits in Toyota's showrooms today. -- BARRY PARK

© 2008 The Age

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