This somewhat odd-looking machine is actually a prototype for an electric vehicle (EV) produced in the early 1990s by the Sebring Auto-Cycle Company in Sebring, Florida. It turns out a few production machines were made as well. This one is listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace and is being offered for $4,000. It’s located in Fair Oaks, California, and is said not to have been run in the last 15 years.
The Zzipper was designed by Jim Tervort, who’s still around and commented on the car being sold on Facebook. The vehicle featured a retractable rear wheel and extendable hitch attachment with the intent of being able to be trailered easily behind an RV, presumably for use once you arrived wherever you were going. I found an earlier listing for what appears to be this exact vehicle here, where a previous owner describes it as being capable of 55 miles per hour and that it “is a real show stopper and gathers crowds at EV shows.” They also state that they were the original purchaser of the car from Sebring Auto-Cycle.
The interior looks pretty basic, but with a stated range of only 20 miles, I guess it didn’t have to be tremendously comfortable. I found an article here in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel archives that disagrees with the range stated by the seller and bumps that figure to 85 miles, as well as a list price of $8,795 (!) in 1990 and a target of 35 sales that year.
I found this picture of the Zzipper “engineering prototype” in an article here at autohistory.org detailing the Zzipper’s predecessors, the Citicar and Commuta-Car. It doesn’t differ much from the Zzipper on offer and might even be the same vehicle after further modification. The author of the article claimed to have been up to 60 miles per hour in this prototype.
Unfortunately, like most old EVs, this one needs a new set of batteries. Scotty G. and I have the same issue with an old Subaru EV at the moment. Does anyone know of a great source for inexpensive lead-acid batteries? What do you think of the Zzipper? Have you ever seen one before?
A more modern battery package would certainly extend the driving range significantly. But really, I’d go for pretty much anything other than this curiosity to tow behind my coach.
The front bears a nagging resemblance to a dust buster.
Good call on the Dustbuster! LOL!
A modern battery pack would definitely extend the range, but that would mean more people will see it.
Then the question.
Why wood anyone want to see it.
The side window looks like my grandmothers breadbox. Some not so serious thought went into this.
About as ugly as it gets.
It needs a rack for the golf clubs…
This may be ugly, but I love the bizarre, oddball, unusual,
unique, and wacky. Please keep this weird stuff coming !!!
Merry Christmas car lovers !!!! Big Al
Kudos to those who have the engineering intellect to come up with these types of machines but from an artistic perspective, ouch! I mean, at least ask a few buddies over and ask what they think about the look….they may not get the electronics but they recognize ugly when they see it.
Probably will fly over a lot of young heads, but from the pics I doubt if Julie Newmar could reach those pedals…..
She’d have to be included for me to buy it.
Interesting machine, and if it was flipped on it’s front it would even slightly resemble a car from the old carnival ride bearing the same name!
https://tinyurl.com/Zipper-Carnival-Ride
I think this is a brilliant concept, and given the available technology of the time, not a horrible execution.
I think that if something like this was built with modern technology – perhaps a system reversal of regenerative brakes, so that the batteries would charge as it’s being towed – wouldn’t put too much drag on the Class A Diesel motorhome. I think it would sell to the sort of folks who live full-time in $200k+ RVs.
The Zzipper was a Ddud.
Define “brilliant”. “Distinctive”, I guess. Certainly not “Excellent”, as in Great Britain.
Wow!!! I know Jim. Jim is a very intelligent man. Some of his projects included a diesel Pinto and a mid engine Corvair. The Zzipper was engineered by Jim after he left the Citicar Company. May not be pretty but it worked.
It was cr@p like this that set back the EV market for decades. Let’s not take a known thing that works well like a standard automobile and repower it, let’s take and build something useless, ugly and dangerous. That ought to get people flocking to electric cars!.
I drive a Ford Focus EV. I get the impression that people pitty me figuring it is one of these things. I was speaking to a friend on the bluetooth connected phone and I said “Hang on, this truck is slowing for the hill and I need to pass him”…She asked “Will it pass a TRUCK!???”…
I laughed “OK..hang on..sixty five…..aaaaaaand…..eight four!..I just hit the speed limiter in the computer..happy now?”
A “converted car” such as the Ford is not ideal BUT it does what a car does with all the Jetson freak show “styling”.
People equate EV with “Golf Cart”. The comments I see (and will see in response to this…) indicate a fundamental lack of understanding. No..EV’s are not “the answer”. They are, however, AN answer. There is the slight problem of having to build a megawatt plant every 3 week for the next 20 years to charge the fleet of cars than there is with the cars themselves. And when the attacks come “What are yah gunna do when the battery goes bad? It’s $2000 to replace it!” I’ll have to tell you that the list price of the battery pack from Ford is $22,000. Eye watering? Yep..However it is heavily warranted and used/rebuilt are options.
We should have had BEV’s a LONG time ago. Wanna-be carnival rides like this did us al a diservice..Rant over…
I’m totally ok with electric cars but to achieve wide adoption they will need to function at least as good as a gas vehicle. Similar range. Fairly quick refueling/recharging time, and where I live be able to heat the interior comfortably for hours even at -20F.
They’re coming along but not quite there yet. The ford f250 EV looks decent but I cant stand the looks of the tesla “pickup”. Too unconventional.
Coming up i29 the other day there was a brand new ford mach E pulled over with the hazards on. Since it’s not likely broken down, I’m guessing the battery went dead. What a shame to spend that kind of money on a new car and not be able to make it from one town to the next up here in the desolate upper midwest
(Coming up i29 the other day there was a brand new ford mach E pulled over with the hazards on. Since it’s not likely broken down, I’m guessing the battery went dead. What a shame to spend that kind of money on a new car and not be able to make it from one town to the next up here in the desolate upper midwest
People worry about driving long distances, but one of the big advantages is to almost NEVER have to go to a gas station. Your car is fully charged every morning.
We have one EV and one plug-in Hybrid which gets 85 mpg.
Five batteries for $ 175.00 each=$875.00! were are you going to charge it? might as well buy a gas powered golf cart.
There is a Caltech graduate named Glen Brown that designed fairings for bicycles, also called Zzippers.
https://www.zzipper.com/
And they were around in the 80s.
Could you get regenerative braking going backwards? I’ll have to see if one of my EVS will regenerate going backwards on a hill.
“Might as well get a gas powered golf cart.”
I have a “friend” that HATES EVs. Calls them golf carts. Even though he’s never driven one.
I’d like to see it in person. The first Tesla used lithium ion batteries from some other use, maybe video cameras? Maybe that would work here?
Too pricey for a conversation piece.
Rather than lead acid, there are lightweight Lithium batteries designed for high performance cars that take up less space -the weight reduction makes the car perform better, would increase range and the smaller size would allow for more creative placement in a vehicle. Sadly, I do not recall the manufacturer, whose booth I visited at SEMA in 2018. I was amazed at how much lighter their batteries were than a lead acid or glassmat ( like Optima ) battery of the same power.
Yes, something like that would be the way to go.
Could I tow it behind my Leaf instead of an RV?
Back when this was built, all EVs used 6 volt deep cycle electric golf cart batteries because that’s all that were available. They generally used series wound brushed motors, again because that’s what was available. Even the Jet Electric cars used that set up. Hobbyists doing conversions often used surplus forklift motors and controllers. The electric parts and upgrades for this should be readily available and reasonable. To recharge, you just plugged it into a regular 120 volt socket. They made good grocery getters, but most people didn’t want an additional car with such limited capability. The gas rationing of the early 1980s brought out quite a few creative solutions.
Hey Jamie,
Interstate Batteries sells ‘discount’ batteries for $40.