Commuter Cars Tango - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Tango is an ultra-narrow electric sports car

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

initially designed and built by Commuter Cars

Commuter Cars

Commuter Cars is a Spokane, Washington based company founded by Rick Woodbury and his son Bryan. They are beginning production of the first of their line of ultra-narrow electric sports cars, the Tango T600...

, an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

company based in Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

, that sells this car worldwide for $108,000.

Production of the first version, at a rate of about 100 cars per year, was set to begin in late 2005. Actor George Clooney

George Clooney

George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

took delivery of the first Tango kit on August 9, 2005, which was a major milestone for the company. Clooney appeared in the press with the car, explaining and promoting it. Difficulties with their UK manufacturer forced CommuterCars to take over manufacturing themselves; for this reason the second vehicle did not ship until February 11, 2008, and was completely assembled in Spokane, Washington. The second car eventually found its way into the second-floor office of Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Eric E. Schmidt

Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American software engineer and the current executive chairman of Google. From 2001 to 2011, he served as the chief executive officer of Google....

as part of an April Fool's Day joke.

Overview

The Tango is thinner than some motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s and may be small enough to legally ride side-by-side with other small vehicles in traffic lanes in some jurisdictions. Capable of seating two passengers in a tandem seating arrangement, it only takes up one-quarter of a standard parking space

Parking space

A parking space is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved.Parking spaces can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. It is usually designated by a white-paint-on-tar rectangle indicated by three lines at the top, left and right of the designated area...

and is able to park sideways in many cases. One prototype vehicle has been produced by the company and was shipped to Prodrive

Prodrive

Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

in January 2005, where the design was refined for production models.

The first model is the luxury Tango T600, costing roughly US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

108,000. Premium features partially offset the high cost of the early kit

Kit car

A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...

vehicles, which are outfitted with a leather-lined interior and a hefty Alpine

Alpine Electronics

is traditionally known as an aftermarket car audio and navigation systems manufacturer, famed for their high quality, premium in-car audio units commonly known as headunits. It is a subsidiary of Alps Electric Co. and its registered head office is in Tokyo, Japan. However its main offices, or the...

sound system

Sound reinforcement system

A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...

. The T200 model is expected to be eventually released at $40,000, while the T100 is expected with a $19,000 price tag. Both of these higher-production models remain to be developed and are awaiting funding.

While the vehicle appears unstable at first glance, its heavy battery pack

Battery pack

A battery pack is a set of any number of identical batteries or individual battery cells. They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, or power density...

and low ground-clearance combine to give it a center-of-mass only 11 inches from the ground, allowing for stable handling. About two-thirds of the 3,000+ lb (1360+ kg) curb weight

Curb weight

Curb weight or kerb weight is the total weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables , a full tank of fuel, while not loaded with either passengers or cargo.This definition may differ from definitions used by governmental regulatory agencies or other...

in the prototype — comparable to a standard sedan — is taken up by the batteries, twin motors, and controller, mounted low in the frame. Production models are expected to weigh less, ranging from 2,200 to 2,500 lb (1,000 to 1,130 kg). Propulsion is provided by two electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s. To extend its range, an optional generator cart

Genset trailer

A genset trailer is a range extending device for use with battery electric vehicles consisting of an internal combustion engine and an electrical generator . They run on traditional fuels such as gasoline or diesel and are sized to provide the continuous power requirements for the vehicle they are...

can be attached to the Tango.

Recharge

A dryer outlet

Outlet

Outlet may mean:* An electrical outlet* An outlet store or outlet mall* The pelvic outlet* A type of instance variable used for graphical user interface programming in the OpenStep / Cocoa environment* Outlet, Ontario, a community in Canada...

will give most of a charge in an hour, or a full charge in less than 3 hours. With a 110-volt outlet, it’s still easily charged overnight. With a 200-amp off-board charger, the Tango can be charged to 80% in about 10 minutes.

Specifications

Width: 39 inches (~99 cm)
Length: 101 inches (~257 cm)
Weight: 3000+ lb (1360+ kg)
0–60 mph (0–96 km/h): 4 seconds
¼ mile (0.4 km): 12 seconds @ over 120 mph (193 km/h)
Top speed: 150 mph (240 km/h)
Range: 40–60 miles (96–128 km) with lead-acid batteries. Over 150 miles with lithium-ion batteries.
Batteries: 12 V * 19 Hawker Odyssey's or 25 Exide Orbital XCD's or Optima Yellow Tops. Lithium-ion battery options available for a premium of $25,000 to $45,000.
Nominal Voltage: 228 V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

with 19 Hawkers, 300 V with 25 batteries, 250 V with lithium-ion batteries.
Charging: 50 A
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...

Manzanita Micro
Manzanita Micro
Manzanita Micro is a Kingston, Washington-based manufacturer of battery regulators, battery chargers, and plug-in hybrid vehicle conversion kits. Their products are intended for electric vehicles.- External links :* *...

on-board charger with Avcon
Avcon
Avcon is a company that manufactures charging interfaces for battery electric vehicles . The lettering convention is Avcon for the company and AVCON for the EV charging head....

conductive coupling
Conductive coupling
Conductive coupling is the transfer of electrical energy by means of physical contact via a conductive medium, in contrast to inductive coupling and capacitive coupling...

. 200 A off-board charger under development.
Motors
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

: 2 Advanced DC Motors DC FB1-4001 9", one driving each rear wheel with over 1000 lbft of combined torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

at low rpms. 8,000 rpm redline
Redline
Redline refers to the maximum engine speed at which an internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine...

.

Notable Tango owners

George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

- actor
Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin
Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin is a Russian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the largest internet companies. , his personal wealth is estimated to be $16.7 billion....

- Cofounder of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Larry Page
Larry Page
Lawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...

- Cofounder of Google

Overview

Recharge

Specifications

Notable Tango owners

See also