Looking like a small hatchback sliced in half, the Tango from Commuter Cars is one of 53 vehicles that have made the finalist cut in the Automotive X Prize. Competing in the Alternative Class, the Tango is distinguished by its unique dimensions. It stretches just 8 feet, 5 inches long and it is 39-inches wide. That slender width makes the Tango five inches narrower than a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. As President Rick Woodbury points out, if everyone drove a car half as wide as today’s average model, roads and parking lots could fit twice as many vehicles in the same space.

The car has two race-style bucket seats, positioned one behind the other, and Commuter Cars claims the car can seat two adults over six-feet tall. The front seat provides adequate space and comfort, though it is a unique experience to be able to rest an elbow on each window ledge. To address side-impact concerns, there are three protective bars within the doors.

The Tango uses 19 lead-acid batteries mounted on the bottom of the car for ballast. Commuter Cars calculates that the tallish car meets the NHTSA static rollover standard to achieve a five-star rating. The company claims a range of 40-60 miles and says the batteries can be recharged to 80 percent capacity in 10 minutes on a 110-volt outlet. Optional lithium-ion batteries would give a range of 150 miles. Two nine-inch electric motors drive the rear wheels with 1,000 ft.-lbs. of combined torque—that is more than twice the torque produced by a Chevrolet Corvette (424 ft.-lbs.). The car weighs about 3,300 lbs.

Don’t let the looks fool you, the Tango boasts a 0-60 mph time under four seconds and quarter-mile time of 12.8 seconds with the 228-volt lead-acid batteries. A 350-volt lithium-ion battery pack is under development, and it is expected to further enhance the sports-car-grade acceleration, while adding range. In its current configuration, Woodbury estimates the Tango has over a 100 miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe).

Consumer Reports will get a close-up look at the Tango’s performance during the competition’s technical evaluation next spring, as the Tango and other green machines compete for the $10 million prize. 

 —Jeff Bartlett and Eric Evarts

Learn more about the Automotive X Prize competition. And find out more about driving green in the Consumer Reports special fuel economy section.