You can buy a brand new electric ‘Jeep’ for £8,000 with jerry-can batteries and a solar panel ‘toy box’ to park it in
A FRENCH start-up is offering an electric off-roader with Jeep-inspired looks for around £8,000.
It’s called the Kilow La Bagnole, which translates as ‘The Car’ and you can reserve this tiny EV right now.
Prices start at €9,990, or around £8,500, which gets you a stripped-back electric off-roader for two people which borrows some design cues from the infamous Willys Jeep.
Two versions are available; one that can go 28mph which doesn’t require a driving licence and one that’ll do 50mph which does.
La Bagnole can be plugged in at home and once fully charged is able to travel up to 85 miles.
Its battery packs continue the WW2 Jeep theme by looking like jerry cans and its load bed can carry up to 150kg.
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With a single motor at the back, it’s not intended for serious off-roading, but La Bagnole’s hardy suspension and thin tyres will still let you have high-speed fun away from the Tarmac.
It also weighs just 350kg, less than some of the battery packs in modern EVs, allowing it to get to 25mph in four seconds.
That’s because it’s built on a simple chassis and features lightweight seats made from carbon fibre.
You’ll also find lots of lightweight and sustainable materials like wood for the dashboard and even the pedals.
There’s no infotainment system – just a simple LED readout for your speed and battery charge status.
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La Bagnole comes unregistered for the road in France, so you’d have to do the leg work if you wanted to drive it on the road there or in Britain.
Really, its designers see it as more of a toy to be taken off-road in large forests or across the countryside.
In fact, you can even spec a ‘toy box’ with solar panels on the outside in which to park and charge it.
Other options include a fridge, extra waterproofing or various compartments for the load bed, although this all adds to the price.
