Mitsubishi Colt In All Its…Glory?
The Mitsubishi Colt has been a favorite of Economy-class drivers for over three decades, but it isn’t the prettiest ride in Mitsu’s line up. The current Mitsubishi Colt is a actually constructed in the Netherlands, using the same underpinnings as its sister car, the discontinued Smart Forfour. Mitsubishi has used the name twice previously, first as the marque of a series of kei cars and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then as the export version of the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback in the 1980s and 1990s. The Chrysler Corporation, Mitsubishi’s longtime partner, also used the name in the 1970 when it rebadged the second generation Mitsubishi Galant as Dodge Colt and Plymouth Colt captive imports for the United States market.
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In 2006 Mitsubishi displayed the Colt MIEV, using a separate electric motor at each wheel. Development of their MIEV technology was first announced May ’06 when Mitsubishi unveiled the Colt version is a rear-wheel drive all-electric vehicle fitted Colt MIEV test-bed. With two 20 kW in-wheel motors. The Colt MIEV has a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) and a cruising range of 150 km (93 miles) on a single charge. Charge times have been suggested to be a quick as 10 minutes, although whether this is partial or full is undisclosed. It does however point to the usage of quick-charge batteries such as those developed by Toshiba.
Mitsubishi used the Colt test bed to perform on-road testing to identify and resolve any problems unique to the in-wheel motor vehicle, including any deterioration in road holding and ride comfort due to increases in unsprung weight, as well as reliability and durability issues in the in-wheel motor system and its peripheral components (suspension, wheels, tires). They simultaneously worked on developing a more powerful version of the in wheel motors for 4WD applications.
source: wikipedia
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