Clean Green Cars: Quick Spin: Driving an Amp Sky shows there's real potential here

Quick Spin: Driving an Amp Sky shows there's real potential here

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GM, Saturn, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Detroit Auto Show, Green Daily, Automotive X-Prize, Amp Electric Vehicles

Amp Sky - Click above for high-res image gallery

What you see in the picture above is not a Saturn Sky. Well, OK, it is a Sky, but it’s a Sky that has been converted to all-electric drive by Amp Electric Vehicles, a conversion company based in Cincinnati, OH. A while back, during the Detroit Auto Show, we got a chance to spend a few minutes behind the wheel of the electrified Amp Sky and realized that, while the prototype version we steered was not exactly ready for prime time, there is a lot of potential here, both for Amp and plug-in vehicle fans who want an EV from the heartland of America (with Chinese batteries).

The all-electric Sky is, unsurprisingly, considering its heritage, not the best performer on snow and we had a ridiculously difficult time navigating the streets of downtown Detroit at anything more than 40 miles per hour. Of course, the day we drove it the weather was uncooperative, and no one else was going any faster than we were, even on our brief jaunt on the highway. We can’t blame the converters for the lack of traction and limited speeds we were able to test out. Still, we got to enough time driving the Sky to get a feel for what Amp is up to here. Read on after the jump to see what the drive is like.

Gallery: Amp Sky