EVLN(Yugo electric rebirth from the "godfather of electricity")
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml;$sessionid$R3FI50G32XQZPQFIQMGCFF4AVCBQUIV0?xml=/motoring/2002/08/16/emnyug17.xml&sSheet=/motoring/2002/08/16/ixmot.html&_requestid=197482
Yugo all charged up for electrical rebirth (Filed: 17/08/2002)
With help from the Croat "godfather of electricity",
Yugoslavia's most famous car - the Yugo - is to be reborn as
an environmentally friendly electric vehicle, writes Michael
Leidig.
The marque is about to rise from the ashes of production
almost destroyed by Nato bombing in 1999 as the Yugo
Electra, using technology developed by the great Serb
scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla. The Electra should
enter production at the start of next year after more than
24 months of testing and development.
Manufacturers and developers in four different parts of the
country have come together to resurrect the famous Yugoslav
brand, with technical and development assistance from the
Electro-Technical University in Belgrade.
The peak of the car's popularity came in the 1980s, but in
1999 the major production factory, Kragujevac, was largely
destroyed during the Nato campaign. Parts for the car, which
looks exactly the same as the last of the petrol-engined
Yugos, are being supplied from three different locations
because the factory has still not been rebuilt.
"This is an amazing car. We want to export it just the same
way we exported the skills of Nikola Tesla to the USA," said
Jovan Radakovic, director of the Sever company, which is
working on developing the vehicle.
Croatian-born Tesla, who died in the US in 1943, patented
more than 700 inventions and ideas, including a telephone
repeater, an induction motor, AC power transmission,
wireless communication, radio and fluorescent lights. His
work will form the mainstay of the new car.
Powered by a 140-volt battery that can drive 50 miles on one
charging, the car uses the non- synchronic engine devised by
Tesla. Previously, such engines were used only in trams.
"The more you use the brakes, the longer you can drive. When
using the brakes, the engine becomes a generator and fills
the battery," said Radakovic. "The Electra will be marketed
as an environmentally friendly automobile to appeal to what
its backers see as a more ecologically aware 21st-century
car- buying public."
Designed almost exclusively for use in cities, the car has a
top speed of 56mph. The electricity needed to power the car
would cost 8p per 62 miles.
Contrary to popular belief, parts for Yugo cars are readily
available in the UK. For all Yugo needs, contact Yugo Cars
Ltd on 01202 822154/896290 (www.yugo.co.uk).
�Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2002. Terms &
Conditions of reading. Commercial information. Privacy
Policy.
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