A video report has appeared online, filmed at the ZAZ stand at a German auto show, where an electric version of the "Tavria" was demonstrated. The material was prepared by the program "TV-Inform," which aired in the Soviet Union from August to December 1991. The video was recently published on the Gosteleradiofond page on Facebook, and it can be found via the link.
The host on screen notes that the electric "Tavria" has already received a fixed price tag and can be purchased immediately. He emphasizes that many other manufacturers' electric cars remain only prototypes, and the future, in his words, belongs to such compact cars.
In the early nineties of the last century, electric cars were being developed in many countries around the world, and the "Tavria" with an electric motor was one such project. It was created in the same 1991. The price for the innovative car turned out to be quite democratic: in Germany, they asked 31,650 German marks for it. For comparison, the Mercedes 190E, which cost 37,000 marks, was valued at approximately the same amount.
Externally, the electric car did not reveal its feature in any way and looked the same as the standard model. The differences were hidden inside. Under the hood was a DC electric motor with a power of 16 horsepower, allowing acceleration up to a maximum of 80 km/h. A lead-acid battery with a capacity of 240 Ah provided a range of 60 to 120 km. The car was also equipped with an energy recuperation system and a battery charge indicator on the dashboard. The total weight of the car slightly exceeded 1.1 tons.
Despite all the technical innovations, this model did not receive mass distribution. During that period, even such major players as Mercedes and BMW considered electric cars an unpromising direction.
In addition to Facebook, the report on the electric "Tavria" is also available on YouTube (the fragment starts at the 1:15 mark):
