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Electric car Hotzenblitz: German Tesla

2020-10-25T06:59:51.509Z


The history of mobility is full of insane studies that first inspired and then disappeared. SPIEGEL shows the most daring visions. Today: The Hotzenblitz, a failed electric car that is trying to make a comeback.


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Hotzenblitz was the name of the electric car that a start-up from the Black Forest put on its wheels in 1993.

In the future, the toddler will be reactivated with a hydrogen hybrid drive.

Photo: J. Hammerschmidt / Wikimedia Commons

Presenter Thomas Gottschalk seemed enthusiastic when he announced two special guests in his late night show in 1994: Germany's first mass-produced, exclusively electric car, the Hotzenblitz;

and Thomas Albiez, the head behind the vehicle.

"The thing is not only environmentally friendly, it also looks good," said Gottschalk.

The name of the electrician Albiez is still closely associated with the Hotzenblitz project.

"I am the intellectual father of the car, but it takes a whole team," said Albiez on the talk show.

The Hotzenblitz story began in 1989 in the Black Forest community of Ibach.

There a team of technicians brooded over the mobility of the future.

Among them Tobias Moers, later boss of Mercedes AMG and currently boss of Aston Martin.

At that time, various manufacturers were already working on small and micro car concepts.

Mercedes had already presented the petrol-powered micromobile study NAFA in 1981.

The "local transport vehicle" is considered a forerunner of the Smart.

VW presented the hybrid tot at the IAA 1991, Chico, which never went into series production.

And the Smart came onto the market in 1998, but the first electric version of the two-seater wasn't until 2012. Hotzenblitz had this idea 30 years earlier.

Incidentally, the car got its name because Ibach was in the Hotzenwald.

And because the idea for the car - it was rumored later - should have struck the inventors like lightning.

Developed in the Black Forest, built in Thuringia

The idea was followed by high expenses.

Initially, Albiez invested almost 300,000 marks of private assets in the Hotzenblitz.

In 1990 he was supported by Alfred Ritter, heir to the chocolate company "Ritter Sport".

Another 19 months later, the first prototype was ready.

Schwaller Motorsport from Switzerland supplied the frame and chassis.

The car was officially called "EL Sport", but no one called the little boy that.

Hotzenblitz sounded much better.

And the car looked promising.

In 1993, Hotzenblitz Mobile GmbH was founded to manufacture the e-mobile in the factory of the former moped manufacturer Simson in Suhl, Thuringia.

The series model was 2.75 meters long, almost 1.50 meters wide, weighed around 800 kilograms and offered space for two to a maximum of four people.

It could then be seen at the major auto shows in Frankfurt and Geneva.

Three variants and a range of up to 150 kilometers

The Black Forest Tesla was already available in three versions: as a buggy model with fabric doors and soft top (intended for use in hotels), as a "City" vehicle (with fixed doors and windows) and as a hardtop version with a hinged rear window (intended for the Delivery traffic).

Thanks to two emergency seats in the rear, up to four people could travel.

As a trunk replacement there was a large drawer that could be pulled out from the rear and in which two crates of drinks could be transported.

The car was front-wheel drive and had a three-phase asynchronous electric machine with an output of 16 kW (21 hp).

The top speed of the Hotzenblitz was 120 km / h.

With one charge of the zinc-bromine battery (15 kWh), the car could initially travel 60 kilometers and later up to 150 kilometers.

The price of the Hotzenblitz was 32,000 marks - a new VW Golf IV then cost from 25,700 marks.

Presumably that was a major reason why the tiny electronic flopped.

Within a short time, Hotzenblitz Mobile accumulated debts amounting to eight million marks;

the company's assets were only about 100,000 marks.

The banks pulled the plug in 1996.

At least 140 vehicles were produced at this point in time.

This made the Hotzenblitz the only production car from Germany designed exclusively for electric drive - until the BMW i3 came onto the market in 2013.

Next attempt with hydrogen

At the end of the nineties, the Hotzenblitz project in Duisburg was briefly revived under new management - and flopped again.

At that time, there was great skepticism about battery electric vehicles.

Vehicles with fuel cells were seen as more promising.

But when, in 2005, after three years of research and development work, the Stuttgart Institute for Vehicle Concepts presented a Hotzenblitz with a fuel cell drive, interest remained low.

The hydrogen car with 23 kW (31 PS) power remained an experimental vehicle.

And another attempt to revive Hotzenblitz failed: in 2009, the financial crisis got in the way of the Minimobil.

Despite all the setbacks: The Hotzenblitz still exists.

Namely with its inventor Thomas Albiez and his TZ - MPF Arbeitsgemeinschaft Geo Part in Villach, Austria.

A few copies have also been made in recent years, Albiez recently announced at the request of SPIEGEL.

With new technology, a new design and a new platform, Albiez will soon start a new attempt.

According to the information, series production of the new Hotzenblitz is to start in November 2020.

Both as an electric car with a range of up to 350 kilometers and also with a hydrogen hybrid drive.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2020-10-25

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