Seat unveils electric concept car

* IBe concept is powered by 101bhp electric motor * 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds; 100mph top speed * Styling hints at the look of future Seats...

Seat unveils electric concept car

Seats latest concept car unveiled at the Paris motor show demonstrates how the company sees its future developing in the electric car market.

The IBe is an updated version of the car that first appeared at the Geneva Show earlier this year, and is powered by an electric motor with a maximum output of 101bhp. Thats enough to take the car up to 62mph in 9.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 100mph.

While continuous power is limited to 67bhp, it means that the car will have a range of 81 miles, as well as producing zero local emissions.

The concept is shorter than the Seat Ibiza supermini, but there are four seats inside the IBes sports-coupe body, as well as plenty of toys.

For example, you can connect a smartphone wirelessly to the IBe and perform a multitude of functions. Not only can you play music stored on your phone through the cars speakers, but you can also do a check of the cars systems, look at the trip computer and see how the batterys doing. Files on your phone can also be downloaded, with an array of apps to help you do anything else, including navigation.

Theres no information yet whether the IBe will go in to production, but Seat says that the concept car hints at how its next generation of models will look like.

According to Seats head of design, Luc Donckerwolke, The IBe is a gene pool for our next generation of vehicles. Many of its elements describe our design language going forward, and it demonstrates how well driving pleasure and ecology come together at Seat.