Dartz Freze Froggy EV Beachstar is an electric, golf cart-like roadster
Known globally for peddling hard-to-match flamboyance (including some infamous options), Latvia-based Dartz is moving downmarket by releasing an EV called Freze Froggy EV Beachstar. The golf cart-like convertible traces its roots to China and it was designed as a tribute to a pair of decades-old concepts.
Dartz explained that it developed the Freze Froggy EV Beachstar for car-sharing programs, rental car companies and resorts in the market for a small, inexpensive and relatively stylish vehicle to drive around their respective properties. It looks like the pocket-sized convertible is related to the Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV, which — as its name implies — is a 114-inch long electric car built and sold in China. The Wuling model is a product of a joint-venture among General Motors, SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group. While the microcar is only offered with a fixed roof, the Freze Froggy EV Beachstar stands out with a short windshield, equally short windows and no roof panel.
While buyers will have several colors to choose from, the model depicted in Dartz’s press images features a yellow and green paint job because it picks up where two earlier design studies left off. The first is the Millennium Adventure, an off-roader built by dropping the body of a first-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 on the frame of a G-Class. An investor named Jim Rogers commissioned it in 1999 and took it on a 116-country, 152,000-mile tour of the world. The second is the Volkswagen Froggy, a Beetle with several frog-inspired modifications.
Power for the Beachstar comes from a 41-horsepower electric motor, according to Motor Authority, and the battery pack holds enough juice to provide over 150 miles of range. Top speed should be, well… fairly low considering this little convertible was designed for posh resorts.
Dartz plans to begin delivering the Freze Froggy EV Beachstar in the middle of 2023. Pricing starts at 19,999 euros (around $20,100).
Related Video: