…But a rather quiet “God of Thunder” ThoRR has become (comic book reference… could not resist).

Evisol is yet another Scandinavian company that is looking to provide EV solutions to the growing problem of global high fuel costs. Unlike like the Norwegian company TH!NK that is bringing cost effective budget rides to North America this Fall, the Netherlands based Evisol is dishing out a bit more wind-in-the-face fun with their all electric ThoRR roadster.

Inspired in design by the Lotus 7 roadster chassis the ThoRR roadster is what a primitive roadster is all about, except it derives its motive power from electric motors fueled by lithium batteries and not V8 engines fed on gasoline. The electric powered motors give the ThoRR a rather ominous, erie quiet as it propels down the road (as evidenced in the video that follows).

We use the term primitive because the ThoRR roadster does not have any of the refined attributes of cars today. The concept behind the ThoRR roadster is simplicity, but it is best described on the website itself:   “This concept stands for high performance through simplicity and light weight. Because of the absence of ABS, power assisted braking, power assisted steering, any form of sound absorption, even a roof and a windshield, only the basics of a car remain.” [ThoRR.eu]

That simplicity holds true when you look at the weight of the car and its maximum power output.

…That is the question that many people are asking. While design taste and preferences are truly a matter of preference, and to some design falls second or third to utility or performance, an appealing design will make or break a vehicle.

One modern day, non-hybrid design that exemplifies bad design and a sales flop is the Pontiac Aztec.

While picking on the Aztek at this time is a little off topic in that it is not a Hybrid it is still a prime example of what happens when design fails function. Although the car has been out of production for years Pontiac is still able to sell new Azteks from their stockpile of “New” cars that never sold. In 2007 they sold 25 Azteks.

The concern today turns toward the hybrid and ultra fuel sippers that are growing in demand as gas prices continue to climb. Europeans have been enduring high gas prices for decades and on a whole adjusted their shopping to what they could afford, smaller cars and diesels, a long time ago. After a solid 15 years of SUV mania in the states it is difficult to break those shopping habits along with the feelings of need for utility and safety associated to SUV’s. And believe me, the American auto industry was more than happy to sell those marked-up SUV’s to a thirsting populace. So much so that during that 15 year span of SUV mania cars nearly slipped off the radar in the design and board rooms. Now that another fuel crisis is upon us and new technologies are advancing the auto industry is having to rethink just what the Car will become. …And that in turn is leading to some interesting, odd and sometimes quirky autos.

Follow the Leap for analysis on 10 designs that represent the Hybrid-Electric-Fuel Efficient market.

In celebration of 30 years BMW bestowed upon the M1 and the many fans who adore it a gift in orange and alloy. What you are looking at above is not a mere rendition of what a redesign of the M1 would look like, as animated as it appears to be. It is a physical reality that may be more study than reality, but truly does capture the spirit that drove the two preceding designs.

The new M1 concept car was received by those attending the Concorso d’Eleganza at Vista d’Este this weekend, where you will see in the photos of the gallery that it was joined by its 2 brothers. While what we see here may be just a concept it does reinforce the knowledge there are still people around today who can produce superlative designs such as this. To anyone’s knowledge thus far the 30 year anniversary M1 concept is merely a shell as no hint of a motive source or interior contents were exposed as its single outing.

Rekindling the knife’s-edge sharpness of the two prior designs tip of the hood the new M1 begins just as all others, with the two kidney shaped grill bookended by sinister headlamps. The contours of the body reflect well on the Giugiaro-designed M1 that followed up on the original M1 designed by Paul Bracq. The tribute follows suit from front to rear concluding with the louvered rear window and the dual BMW badging over-top of the rear break lamps.

Take a look at the gallery after the leap and join BMW in celebrating 30 years of M1 design.

(TH!NK CEO Jan-Olaf Willums and Design Manager Kathinka Von der Lippe)

TH!NK, a Norwegian electric car producer, is ready to give America their first taste of an affordable, mass-produced, all-electric vehicle in 2009 thanks to a partnership with Green-leaning investors Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers (http://www.kpcb.com) and RockPort Capital Partners. While TH!NK has been producing EV’s for the Scandanavian roads for a number of years now and has enjoyed other partnerships, including a stint with Ford, this will be their first forray in North America.

The first car of their three current designs that will be sold by TH!NK North America will be the TH!NK City. To start out the company will focus its sales in California, but if the car sales go as expected there will be more states to come we can imagine. The TH!NK City is built from materials that make it 95% recyclable and has a range of 110 miles and reaches a top speed of 65 mph. There are two battery options available to the TH!NK City buyer: lithium or sodium.

As with the all electric car system Project Better Place that is taking place in Isreal, the owner of a TH!NK car will pay a maintenance fee for the batteries used in their cars. In exchange TH!NK will assume all responsibility associated with their battery packs, including swapping them for new batteries if necessary. The fee also covers the body panels of the car; which they describe as dent resistent and rust proof. The proper support and gentle aging that takes place over the cars lifetime is one of the reasons TH!NK believes their cars will retain a high resale value over time. 
…Photo Galleries to follow…