French car makers Venturi have release details of the Eclectic say its no longer just a concept.  Production of 20 pre-series vehicles has commenced.  A limited version of 200 vehicles with specific equipment will be launched in June 2007.

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.

Eclectic’s message is loud and clear: this is not an ordinary car, but an avant-garde way of getting around.  Owning an Eclectic is also a personal commitment: it means changing one’s way of getting from one place to another by exchanging one’s role as a “consumer” for that of a “producer” and this, in the general interest.

The Eclectic runs on hi-tech batteries that can be charged up using either its roof-mounted solar panels or the small wind turbine stored in the back depending on climate conditions.  Unlike other vehicles which are not used for over 90% of the time, Eclectic takes advantage of moments of immobilisation to store energy in its batteries.  A single top-up gives the car a range of more than 30 miles, while the maximum speed is 30mph.