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DOK-ING XD Croatian EV revealed at Los Angeles

A Croatian special vehicle maker called DOK-ING has unveiled the XD prototype at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show. The name might not sound all that sporting but the company claims the little runabout can achieve 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds.


The DOK-ING XD is city car that blends luxury, ultra fuel-efficiency, compact city-driving convenience and sheer acceleration. Who would have thought a small Croatian company could come up with a package that offers all of these characteristics?

On show at Los Angeles, the DOK-ING XD tech sheet placard reads like it fits into the exotic supercar section of the show. It features gullwing doors, a Kevlar and carbon fibre body surrounding an aluminium space frame, and the option of all-wheel drive.

Inside, there's a three-seat layout comprising a central driver position with 'wing man' passengers on either side (just like a McLaren F1) as well as a spruce trim with soft cream Alcantara finishes and plenty of carbon fibre.

As for the powertrain, the DOK-ING XD comes in two flavours: the XD2 and XD4. As you might have guessed, the digit refers to front- and all-wheel drive layouts. Both use a 45kW electric motor for each wheel. In the XD2 there are two motors producing a combined 90kW, while the XD4 features four motors totalling 180kW.

In XD2 form the DOK-ING weighs 1200kg. The XD4 weighs 1300kg - quite heavy for a micro city car. The power of the motors is easily enough to compensate for this though. The XD2 achieves 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds, while the XD4 does it in a supercar-scaring 4.2 seconds.

Interestingly, you don't switch the XD off, instead, it simply goes into 'sleep mode'. DOK-ING says it is then connected to the service centre headquarters each time it is recharged. The idea behind this is that the service centre can keep an eye on any weakening battery cells and replace them separately before the issue spreads to other cells. This reduces the chance of the owner having to pay a hefty bill for a completely new battery pack.

The power system consists of a lithium-­iron-­phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack which provides a total driving range of around 250km. DOK-ING says recharge times range from three to eight hours, depending on the power source.

DOK-ING plans to pit the XD into production, with prices set to start at €50,000 ($67,400).

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(Images courtesy of DO-KING website, showing the XD concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show)

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