The City Zenn will have a range of up to 250 miles on a single 5 minute charge, and a top speed of 80 mph.

Zenn Motors is a Toronto -based low speed  electric vehicle maker.

Founded in October 2006 Zenn holds a 3.8% equity share in a company

called EEStor. It is EEStor who will supply Zenn with it's new battery

technology, which is not really a battery but an ultracapacitor. It

will be longer lasting, lighter, more powerful, and environmentally

friendly than current battery technologies.

These capacitors use barium tinanate coated with aluminum oxide and

glass. The ultrcapacitor are suppose to instantly discharge to the

ground in case of a crash. The weight of the ultracapacitor called the

EESU will be about 336 lbs. with a functionally unlimited

lifetime. The EESU would have 10 times the energy at 1/10th the weight

of a conventional electric car battery.

One of the interesting aspects of this technology is that Lockheed

Martin, the defense contractor, has already taken out patients on the

EESU for a body armor vest that will be used by the military.

Another interesting fact is a venture capitol firm Kliner Perkins

Caufield & Byers  has invested $3 million in EEStor in 2005. The

company has been an early investor in more than 300 information and

biotech firms over the past  35 years including: Amazon.com, American

Online, Google, Sun Microsystems, Compaq and others.

The City Zenn will sell for around $30,000. Retrofit kits will also be available for cars in the 1400kg. range.