Italdesign GTZero Concept: An Eclectic Electric Shooting Brake

8 years, 1 month ago - 4 March 2016, Autoblog
Italdesign GTZero Concept: An Eclectic Electric Shooting Brake
With every passing year, the realization that our beloved automobiles are changing hits harder and harder. But before we all mourn the passing of any sort of golden age of internal combustion, perhaps we should remind ourselves that electric cars do not have to be boring.

Take, for instance, the Italdesign GTZero Concept you see here.

It's a shooting brake, which is sure to get plenty of people to sit up and take notice, and it's got a claimed output of 483 horsepower. That might not seem like all that much these days, but those ponies come courtesy of electric motors. Three of them, in fact. And that means the GTZero is surely blessed with a massive heap of torque. Plus, all that motive power travels through all four wheels, which would allow for on-demand traction control and torque vectoring. All four wheels steer the car, too. Range is listed at 310 miles, and the top speed is limited to 155 miles per hour. Obviously, both stats aren't measured at the same time. The batteries can be recharged to 80-percent in as little as 30 minutes, assuming you have the right charging equipment, we assume.

If you don't like this particular bodywork, that's no big deal. The GTZero has been designed with a modular platform consisting of a carbon fiber monocoque in the center that houses the batteries, and aluminum subframes front and rear. It can supposedly support both fully electric and hybrid drivetrains. There's room for four occupants inside, assuming one of them is a child, along with some reasonable amount of luggage in the cargo area out back.

Inside, there are no buttons. Just a whole bunch of leather, metal and glass-surfaced touchscreens. Oh, and its doors open, says Italdesign, in the elytra style – just like the shell-like protections on a beetle's wings.

So, to recap: Shooting brake? Check. High-performance powertrain? Check. Beetle doors? Check. Sounds like the world's most perfect concept car. Take a look for yourself in the video and image gallery above and below.