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Presently, prototypes of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt look nothing like the finished product. That will change come June 1, when the Volt enters its next stage of development.
Andrew Farah, the Volt’s lead engineer, told GM-Volt.com that GM would begin assembling “integration vehicles” this summer. Unlike previous prototypes, which were built solely to test the real-world performance of the new extended-range electric vehicle (ER-EV) powertrain, these prototypes will actually wear the Volt’s bodywork.
“They will look, taste, smell, and feel like the Volt,” Farah said.
Each of these early prototypes will be entirely hand-built, and will take a significant amount of time to assemble Farah hopes to have several up and running by July 4, and ultimately advance the build process to ten cars per week. GM plans on building approximately 80 integration prototypes before moving to the next stage.
These cars won’t necessarily have the fit, finish, and finess of the final production vehicle. Prototypes built closer to the Volt’s production date will, and will actually be assembled on the Volt’s assembly line in Hamtramck, Michigan.
GM is still aiming for saleable units (Volts that can actually be sold to consumers) to begin production in November of 2010.
Source: GM-Volt.com
@Winzer: the bottom photo is what the production Volt will look like. The top photo is one of the aforementioned powertrain mules, which stuffs the Volt’s drivetrain into another car (last-gen Malibu or the new Cruze, as seen here) in order to test it in the real world.Many of the features you lament will show up in the production car.
If the proto is an indication of what the production Volt looks like, I gotta say…it sure looks a lot less cool than the pics of the Volt we’re used to seeing. Where’s the fanyc grille, super bright headlights, fancy side mirrors, and LED foglamps on the front bumper? Gotta cut costs somewhere I suppose.
Volt FTW!