The Subaru G4e is an electric car

Electric car

An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...

 undergoing development and testing by Japanese automaker Subaru

Subaru

; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...

. It was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show

Tokyo Motor Show

The is a biennial auto show held in October-November at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association , it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs...

. The car seats five in a functional, accessible interior and has a wedge design with a low 0.276 drag coefficient

Drag coefficient

In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...

. It has a range of 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) and can be fully charged in about eight hours from a home AC power source. A quick charge to 80 per cent of the batteries' capacity is possible in just 15 minutes.

The G4e uses a lithium-ion battery developed exclusively by Subaru which employs vanadium

Vanadium

Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature...

technology to allow the battery to store two to three times more lithium ions than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The car's battery pack provides 346 volts, and is located underneath the passenger compartment.