French green car company Venturi debuts again. This time with the Astrolab concept co- the first to make solar electric hybrid vehicles available commercially.

Astro meaning star, and labe meaning take; this pretty little toy takes its energy from the sun in order to move. The solar charged car can go up to 74 mph, and has a range of 68 miles, a decent jump up from their prior designed vehicle.

The Astro recharges while still in motion and runs on a simple 16kW engine,. The cars capabilities closely follow that of a petrol, maximizing on small amount of energy, by following a Formula 1 design of an ultra-light carbon monocoque chassis, serving as an oversized protection cell, yet allowing a large surface area for its 3.6 square meters of photovoltaic cells. Energy is stored in batteries and allow for driving on the not sunny roadways or days, yet the large solar panels yield an exceptional 21% return. The Astro uses liquid cooled NiMH Venturi NIV-7 batteries and is capable of plugging into the electricity grid, making it the first electro-solar hybrid vehicle.

This is also the first vehicle that consumes no fossil resources in order to work: the emissions of CO2 required for its construction will even be compensated for by Venturi’s environmental actions.

First vehicles are said to appear in January 2008, with a price tag of EUR92,000 or about $117,000.

With all the gas and karma points you’ll save, its expensive not to invest.

Via gizmag