Former Japanese rally driver Yoshio Takaoka, has unveiled on the occasion the 5th Tokyo Auto Salon a new production-ready electric city car, dubbed the Girasole, which has been designed and built in collaboration with Italian firm, Start Lab SAP. It is being sold by Auto EV Japan, a company with plenty of experience in the Japanese electric vehicle market, has also been closely involved. The batteries of the Girasole can be fully recharged by plugging a dedicated recharging cable into a home power socket.

With a brightly-coloured enveloping plastic body which is mounted on a rigid chassis frame, the Girasole is a distinctive new city transport option in Japan, and it can reach a top speed of 41 mph and cover 74 miles on a fully-charged battery. It operates on 200 volts. The 63-year-old Takaoka sees it as being an ideal solution to travelling in Japan's sprawling, congested cities. "Previously I was a polluter, but as I grew older I felt I had to do penance for this and do something good in return," he told Fuji TV, in reference to his former rally driving exploits. Potential buyers can also benefit from a Japanese government issued subsidy which seeks to make environmentally-friendly city vehicles more economically feasible to buy and operate. Fully charging the car's battery is estimated to cost less than US$1.

The Girasole has two seats mounted on a platform above the batteries, and the cabin features a simple dashboard with a single round instrument console in front of the driver, a radio, a battery charge gauge, and a heater. It has a large glass cabin area which makes the car very light and airy inside, as well as maximising its all-round visibility. The windscreen rakes back into a roof section which can be specified with a roll-back weatherproof cover. The large door glass sections include a full-height fixed quarterlight window. The rear of the cabin then drops sharply into a usefully-size booted luggage compartment, although an additional rear body section can be specified, which further extends the cabin area. In this trim the bootlid is replaced by a hinge access flap, opened internally.

The headlights differ in shape between the two market specifications, while both cars though feature small round foglights. It also has disc brakes at the front. This new electric car is being sold in Japan now as well as Italy, and as well as the headlights, the individual specifications are slightly different for each market. In Japan it will be available in red or yellow body colours, while the Italian market gets it in silver.
 

Each of the body colours is complemented by grey A-pillars, the curve of which is reflected in the similar colour treatment meted out to the low door sections, which also curve visibly, while a tubular grey-painted rear bumper and similar-finished rear light bezels complete the effect. This grey curved metal section treatment is continued inside with a similar beam wrapping across the top of the dashboard and the arching the seat frames.

The Japanese launch of electric Girasole has taken place on the occasion of the Tokyo Auto Salon 2007 this month; which was held at the Nippon Convention Centre in the capital city. The show, which focuses on custom-built and tuning cars is now in its 25th edition. Last year around 250,000 visitors came through the turnstiles. The show includes the popular "Tokyo Custom Car Award", spread into six categories, including categories for concept, sports, mini vans, sedans, station wagons and imported cars. It was reported at the show that recent Japanese customer surgeries had provided very positive feedback of the Girasole, with consumers impressed by its quiet running. To alert pedestrians of its approach the tiny car comes with the option of playing the sound of the "clip-clop" of horse hooves in motion.

Girasole means 'sunflower' in Italian, and the makers believe that the car reflects a lively, fresh Italian style. They have dubbed it as the "E-Car" for E-cology (it is sensitive to the environment), E-conomy (it is highly economic to run), E-nergy (for its renewable energy source), E-arth (the earth), E-njoy (it is enjoyable to use), E-xcite (the impression it gives is exciting), and E-motion (it forms a strong impression). The buyer that Auto EV Japan is seeking is one who is very conscious of their environmental responsibilities and clearly says: "We would like to contribute to protection of the environment." Thus the car has been developed to satisfy such a user. Sales of 1,000 units per year in Japan are being targeted for the Girasole with a retail price of 2,604,000 yen.

Photos: Max Press