Renaissance Tropica

Renaissance Tropica
1995 Tropica EV Roadster, as designed by Jim Muir. Image from original Renaissance Cars company records.
Overview
ManufacturerRenaissance Cars
Also called
  • Renaissance Cars Tropica
  • Tropica Roadster
  • Zebra Model Z Roadster
  • Xebra Model Z Roadster
Production1995
Body and chassis
Body styleRoadster
LayoutRear-motor, rear-wheel drive
Powertrain
Electric motor
  • Two DC motors, 18.3 kW (24.5 bhp) each
  • Total maximum power: 36.5 kW (49 bhp)
  • Total maximum continuous power: 11.2 kW (15 bhp)[1]
TransmissionDirect drive (separately for each rear wheel)
Battery11.2 kWh lead-acid

The Tropica or Tropica Roadster is an all-electric car made by Renaissance Cars in the 1990s. It was introduced for the model year 1995 and built in a limited number of units, but never entered series production due to financial issues.[2]

Overview

Renaissance Cars was founded by Bob Beaumont, who previously founded the company which produced the Citicar in the 1970s. The company was headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida.[1]

The Tropica Roadster was designed by Jim Muir.[1]

Specifications

The car was to use an ABS body on an aluminum backbone chassis.[3] Although the first prototype had a fiberglass unibody,[1] later vehicles used an aluminum chassis and a plastic body.[4][5] The total weight was about 2,200 lb (998 kg) at the prototype stage, with plans to reduce it by a further 400 lb (181 kg) in the production version;[1] the manufacturer ultimately specified the weight of the car as 1,960 lb (889 kg).[3]

The battery capacity was about 11.2 kWh, coming from twelve 6V lead-acid batteries, each with a capacity of 156 Ah; the batteries were removable. When a prototype was tested by the Car and Driver magazine,[1] the urban range was about 38 mi (61 km). Later owners of pre-series vehicles reported a range of about 52 mi (84 km).[6] In 2008, a car with about 20,000 miles on its odometer had a range of 35 mi (56 km) on the freeway.[7]

The vehicle would take 6-8 hours to fully charge, but as explained by one owner, "I can get an 85% charge in about 90 mins. The remaining 6-7 hours is used to trickle charge the rest of the battery."[6]

The vehicle had two DC motors,[7] one for each of the rear wheels, which eliminated the need for a differential. The vehicle had no gearbox. The maximum power output was 49 bhp, however the maximum continuous power output was merely 15 bhp,[1] which resulted in a top speed of about 60 mph (97 km/h).[8][5] It was 57 mph (92 km/h) in the Car and Driver test,[1] while another user reported 72 mph (116 km/h).[6]

Production

The car was introduced in 1995 (although prospective customers were able to reserve it earlier).[9] Approximately 16 pre-series Tropica Roadsters were produced[5] and exhibited in showrooms, with at least some of them finding customers. According to another source, the company made 23 vehicles overall, including prototypes and pilot series vehicles.[10] The car did not enter series production because the second financing round failed.[5]

In 1996, the company went into receivership[11] and most of its assets went to a newly founded company called Zebra Motors, based first in Novato and then in Alameda, California.[12] The company announced two models, the Model Z Roadster (which was a renamed Tropica Roadster)[5] and the Light Delivery Van (the latter featuring a swappable battery), but these did not enter series production. The company was then bought by a group of investors reportedly including actor Don Johnson and renamed Xebra Motors.[12] Though the group planned a limited production of the Roadster,[12] the company ultimately failed in 2001.[13]

The car appeared in an episode of Nash Bridges[12] (season 4, episode 17).[14]

One Tropica Roadster is in possession of the Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum in Kingman, Arizona.[15]

Pricing

One user reported buying a new Tropica for $18,000.[6] The manufacturer expected to sell it profitably for $12,500.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Car and Driver, March 1994. Text by Frank Markus, photography by Bob Costanzo. Available here
  2. ^ "The 1995 Renaissance Tropica is the Electric Roadster You Didn't Know Existed". 15 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Tropica. The World's First Affordable Electric Sports Car. Product brochure (2)". www.nogas.org.
  4. ^ "Tropica Roadster Window Sticker". www.nogas.org.
  5. ^ a b c d e "The 1995 Renaissance Tropica Is The Electric Roadster You Didn't Know Existed". HotCars. September 15, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "The Answer Page". Archived from the original on 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  7. ^ a b "Steve Bischoff's Tropica". www.evalbum.com.
  8. ^ Strouhal, Peter (September 8, 2020). "The 1995 Renaissance Tropica is the car nobody asked about". DriveTribe.
  9. ^ "The Tropica/Zebra Saga". www.nogas.org.
  10. ^ "Where are they now???". www.nogas.org.
  11. ^ "The (now defunct) Renaissance Cars Home Page". www.nogas.org.
  12. ^ a b c d "Don Johnson plugs into electric vehicle maker". San Francisco Business Times. Archived from the original on 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  13. ^ "Auction ends run of electric car maker". East Bay Business Times. Archived from the original on 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  14. ^ "Zebra Model Z Roadster in "Nash Bridges"". IMCDb.org.
  15. ^ "Acquisitions & Arrivals | Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation". hevf.org.

External links

  • A website about the Tropica/Zebra
    • The author's personal Tropica page
    • Q&A about the author's Tropica/Zebra
    • Renaissance Cars Inc. - model linuep, including the Roadster
    • The Car and Driver article
  • Another private website
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