Today in Berlin, Volkswagen unveiled the first of 500 electric drive Golfs produced for a consumer test that starts next year. The battery powered Golf was shown at the launch of the National Platform for Electric Mobility, a public-private partnership to promote electric vehicles in Germany.

The e-Golf is propelled by an 85-kilowatt electric motor integrated with a single speed transmission and differential. The motor produces 199 pound-feet of torque from zero rpm which is sufficient to accelerate the Golf to 62 mph in 11.8 seconds. An air cooled 26.5 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack is mounted under the rear seat and cargo floor and center tunnel. VW claims the Golf can go about 93 miles on a charge.

The consumer fleet test will allow Volkswagen to gather real world data before it launches three production EVs in 2013. The first production model with be the Up blue-e-motion city car followed by the next generation Golf blue-e-motion and finally the Jetta blue-e-motion.

Click the title for the source