The new Opel Corsa-e - Design Walkaround by Mark Adams
- 4 years ago
An e-Opel for a more specific purpose was the Corsa-e’s ancestor, the Kadett Impuls I. The German brand created the research vehicle 30 years ago especially for city driving. The idea was to find out how well a production-based electric car with currently available electric components would suit inner-city traffic of the time. On one condition: keep as far as possible the interior and boot space, as well as the payload of the standard production model.
Opel developed the Kadett Impuls I in cooperation with the RWE energy concern and the battery manufacturer SAFT – today the company’s partner in the planned joint production of battery cells at the Kaiserslautern plant. A 100V DC electric motor powered the front wheels. Nickel-cadmium batteries supplied the energy. In order to optimize weight distribution, the batteries were in the engine compartment and under the boot. They weighed a total of 310kg, contained 14.3kWh of energy and had a volume of 170 litres.
Opel developed the Kadett Impuls I in cooperation with the RWE energy concern and the battery manufacturer SAFT – today the company’s partner in the planned joint production of battery cells at the Kaiserslautern plant. A 100V DC electric motor powered the front wheels. Nickel-cadmium batteries supplied the energy. In order to optimize weight distribution, the batteries were in the engine compartment and under the boot. They weighed a total of 310kg, contained 14.3kWh of energy and had a volume of 170 litres.