BRA GmbH To Unveil Cévennes Turbo-CNG Roadster At Geneva

With everybody flipping out about environmentalism in these post-Inconvenient Truth days, companies far and wide are looking to reinvent the wheel, or more specifically, the engine. That's just what BRA GmbH and its partners, PGO Automobiles and Gasmobil will be looking to do at the upcoming Geneva Auto Salon when they introduce their Cévennes Turbo-CNG roadster. Why a German company with an underwear acronym moniker is naming their car after a French mountain range is anybodies guess, but we like the Porsche 356 ripoff body, and the 6.5s dash to 62 mph. Powered with a CNG sucking 4-cylinder, 1.6-liter turbocharged engine is attached to a 6-speed manual and the 150 hp lightweight makes max power at 5,600 rpm, with max torque of 155 lb-ft at 2,300 rpm. Those are pretty driveable numbers for a supposedly green car.

Even though tractors and forklifts have been using CNG and propane for clean and OSHA approved power for a long time, the alt-fuel hasn't seen widespread consumer success in the US due to the inconvenience of refueling. Apparently the natural gas stations are far more common in Europe with Italy leading the way with 430,000 filling stations. BRA is now taking orders for the Cévennes Turbo with a starting price of €48,000. [via Green Car Congress>