Brazilian automotive company OBVIO! will develop and introduce lithium-ion-powered electric cars based on its 828 and 012 microsport car designs (earlier post) for export to North America.

OBVIO! has a strategic partnership with California automobile distributor ZAP, which has agreed to be the exclusive North American distributor and has pre-purchased 50,000 OBVIO! units.

The initial versions of the 828 and 012 car designs will be flex-fueled, and will go into production in 2007. The 828E and 012E equipped with electric drive systems will not be far behind, according to OBVIO! President Ricardo Machado.

It is clear to me that electricity has a big future in the auto industry. OBVIO !?s business model of 100 percent outsourced supplier relationships allows for the speed and flexibility to incorporate a new drive system powered by electricity by our second model year.

The preliminary specifications for the OBVIO! electric cars include a range of 200 to 240 miles, with acceleration from 0 to 60 mph of less than 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph. A 39 kWh lithium-ion battery system will power the 120 kW (160 hp), 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) electric motor.

A full normal recharge will take five hours, with a fast charge taking two hours. A 30-minute quick charge will provide a 20 to 50 mile range.

OBVIO! is also providing a bi-directional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interface.

ZAP, Zero Air Pollution®, has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies and energy products since 1994, delivering more than 90,000 vehicles to 75 countries. ZAP is publicly owned with shares trading on the Archipelago Exchange (PCX) under the trading symbol ZP. For more information, visit http://www.zapworld.com. Target prices for the 828E and 012E are $49,000 and $59,000 respectively.