Produced in Italy with love, the Elcar is designed for simple city driving at low speeds.
Zagato – the renowned Italian car design and racing coachbuilder, is well-known for its sports cars and GT racing vehicles.
In North America, this model is known as the Elcar. (Image: Hotcars)
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Zagato’s automotive design market was dominated by competitors with affordable and simply designed vehicles. This forced Zagato to pivot towards an entirely new segment, leading to the launch of the electric Zele at the 1972 Geneva International Motor Show. In the North American market, this vehicle is known as the Elcar.
Features of the Zagato Elcar
The Zagato Elcar comes in three versions: 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000, corresponding to the power output of the electric motors. All three versions are rear-wheel-drive, two-door vehicles produced from 1974 to 1976, with approximately 500 units manufactured during that time.
The Zagato Elcar comes in three versions: 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000. (Image: Hotcars)
The numbers 1000, 1500, and 2000 indicate the power of the direct-drive Marelli electric motor. The 1000 variant is powered by four 12V batteries, offering a range of 80 km per full charge. Some versions are equipped with up to eight 12V batteries.
The batteries are charged through a simple process of plugging into a power source via a transformer. The Elcar is designed for easy city driving at low speeds. It is smaller than the all-new Nissan Sakura electric Kei car, seating two passengers with some cargo space.
The Elcar is designed for easy city driving at low speeds. (Image: Hotcars)
The 2000 variant features a boost switch designed to increase the motor’s magnetic field at maximum speed, allowing the Elcar 2000 to achieve a top speed of 40 to 48 km/h.
The Zele is available in attractive colors such as orange-red, brown, dark green, pastel green, white, and green.
The Zagato Elcar measures 213 cm in length, 134 cm in width, and 160 cm in height. It weighs 494 kg.
How much does the Zagato Elcar cost?
The Zele electric vehicle is very affordable. (Image: Hotcars)
The minimalist approach helps keep the Zele affordable, making it potentially the cheapest car designed by Zagato.
A yellow Zagato Zele 1000 sold for $14,029.25 (approximately 326 million VND) at an RM Sotheby’s auction in London in 2018.
