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(Tue 02 Mar 10) The SEAT IBE concept on display at the Geneva Show is important in two ways. First, it shows the kind of thing that SEAT's design team can do when it knows that there are no production requirements to be met in the near future. The IBE is very sleek (with a presumably undeliberate reference to Citroen at the tail), and from the images shown here you might think it's quite large.
In fact, it isn't. It's more than ten inches shorter than an Ibiza, but its low roofline and considerable width give it the presence of something much more substantial. SEAT describes it as a 2+2, acknowledging that while it should be able to carry two adults in comfort, it couldn't realistically carry four. Definitely a sports model, then. But not a sports model of any traditional type. The second important thing about the IBE is that it's all-electric, with a motor under the bonnet and a lithium-ion battery pack at the rear. Maximum output is just over 100bhp for brief periods, and 67bhp in continuous running, giving the IBE a 0-62mph time of 9.4 seconds. Top speed is limited to 100mph in an effort to stop the driver draining the battery within minutes in one mad fling.
SEAT does not quote a maximum possible range, but instead points out that the 18kWh battery capacity "is plenty to cover all the daily mobility requirements of city life". Long trips therefore seem inadvisable, though there again the IBE is strictly a concept at the moment and is unlikely to lead to a production model in the immediate future. Comment on this story on Facebook or Twitter. Previous: Ford Focus Estate Next: Skoda Reveals New Fabia vRS |
