Artega Automobil GmbH & Co. KG is a German

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

manufacturer, based in Delbrück, Germany. It was founded by Klaus Dieter Frers in 2006. The company's first product was a mid-engined sports coupé released in 2007. In early 2010, a private equity and venture capital firm that already held a stake in Artega took full control. Artega filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in July 2012. It was reacquired by a company under Frers's control that same year and eventually resumed production, specializing in electric vehicles. In 2022, the German electric vehicle company ElectricBrands acquired Artega, marking the end of the brand.

Company

Artega was founded by Klaus Dieter Frers, a mechanical engineer who worked for AEG-Telefunken before moving to

Nixdorf Computer Nixdorf Computer AG was a West German computer company founded by Heinz Nixdorf in 1952. Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, it became the fourth largest computer company in Europe, and a worldwide specialist in banking and point-of-sale syste ...

to oversee their production facilities from 1983 to 1987. Frers established a company called ''paragon electronics GmbH'' in 1988, and another called ''paragon AG'' in 1999, into which paragon electronic GmbH was merged. paragon AG specialises in electronic modules, controls and display systems for the automotive industry. Frers is also one of the principals of Voltabox Deutschland GmbH, as well as a car collector and competitor in historic racing. Frers founded Artega Automobil in 2006. The name of the company was suggested by Manfred Gotta, a German brand-development expert. The company previewed their first sports car, the Artega GT, at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show as an engineless prototype. A production-ready version appeared at the Geneva Auto Show one year later, labelled the ''Intro 2008'' special edition. Production of the car started in 2009. In interviews in 2008, chief adviser Karl-Heinz Kalbfell indicated that the next models anticipated were a soft-top version and a 4-cylinder car. On 25 January 2010, Mexican investment firm Tresalia Capital assumed control of Artega. At a later date there was a change in management, with Frers leaving the company and Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Ziebart, former Head of Continental AG and

Infineon Infineon Semiconductor solutions is the largest microcontroller manufacturer in the world, as well as Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer. It is also the leading automotive semiconductor manufacturer globally. Infineon had roughly 58,0 ...

AG, becoming CEO of Artega. In March 2011, Artega unveiled an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

version of the GT called the ''Artega SE'' (for Sports Electric). A Targa variant of the GT with a glass roof was shown at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2012. In July of the same year the company filed for bankruptcy protection, and what was expected to be the final GT built rolled off the production line in September. On 1 October 2012, Paragon AG assumed control of Artega. This put Frers once again in charge of the car company. The decision was described as an acquisition of Artega's technology, staff and other assets, with no plan to restart automobile production. At the 2015 International Motor Show in Frankfurt Artega showed two new products; the Scalo, a fully electric sports coupé, and the Karo, an ATV-like vehicle that was also electric. In 2017, Artega brought the new Scalo Superelletra three-seat coupé to the Geneva Auto Show. In December 2018, Artega announced the acquisition of the production rights for the Swiss electric car Microlino. In 2022, the German electric vehicle firm ElectricBrands acquired Artega with the goal of starting production of the Karo-Isetta (now renamed the Evetta) in the next year. Instead, the brand never was able to bring its own vehicle, the XBUS, or the Evetta to market after it filed for insolvency in 2024.

Models

GT

The Artega GT was a two-seat hardtop coupé with a

rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout In automotive design, an RMR, or rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed with its center of gravity in front of the rear axle, and thus right behind the passenger compartment. N ...

. The car was built on an aluminum space-frame chassis, with carbon-fibre-reinforced bodywork. Suspension front and rear was by unequal-length upper and lower A-arms with coil-over dampers. Mechanical design was handled by Hardy Essig, formerly the technical designer for Porsche.

Henrik Fisker Henrik Fisker (born 10 August 1963) is a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California, US. He is best known as the founder of Fisker Automotive and Fisker Inc, and as a designer of luxury cars. After working a ...

, who had designed the

Aston Martin DB9 The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door grand tourer car that was produced in Gaydon, Warwickshire, by the British carmaker Aston Martin. It was manufactured as a coupé starting in 2004 and as a convertible known as the Volante from 2005, until th ...

, styled the car. Power came from a direct-injection version of

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

VR6 engine The VR6 engine is a six-cylinder engine configuration developed by Volkswagen. The name VR6 comes from the combination of German words "Verkürzt" and "Reihenmotor" meaning "shortened inline engine" referring to the VR-engine having characteristi ...

. In the GT this engine was mounted transversely behind the driver and produced . Maximum torque of was produced at 2400 rpm. Power went to the rear wheels through a 6-speed Volkswagen DSG transaxle. The Artega GT weighed without passengers. Artega claimed that the GT could accelerate from in less than 5 seconds and had a top speed of more than . In Germany the Artega GT was priced at €74,948 or $104,000 with taxes.

SE

The Artega SE was an all-electric battery-powered, short-lived version of the GT, using the same aluminum space frame and basic bodywork, but was powered by a pair of electric

motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

producing a combined . On-board energy storage was a water-cooled battery pack that weighed and stored at 350 Volts. At , the SE weighed more than the GT, but had slightly greater acceleration. The car's

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

was estimated to be , depending on driving style. Artega said that the price would be €150,000 (approx. US$212,500).

Scalo

The Scalo first appeared at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show. A refined version of the SE, the Scalo was considered the successor to the GT by Artega. Power came from two Voltabox electric motors that combined to produce and . The actively-cooled battery pack could store 37 kWh of energy at 411 volts and combined lithium-ion battery cells with supercapacitors. The name of the car was borrowed from that of a famous racehorse.

Karo-Isetta

The Artega Karo-Isetta appeared as a concept called the Artega Karo at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto show alongside the Scalo but was renamed to Artega Karo-Isetta upon production. The Karo-Isetta is a

quadricycle The Quadricycle was an early form of automobile. Earliest models were propelled by a small steam engine, then designers switched to early internal combustion engines as they became available. The word is derived from the fact that it had four ...

with electric drive. Resembling a road-going ATV "Quad", the Karo can carry a driver and one passenger riding two-up style. The battery pack has a capacity of 5.3 kWh, and the vehicle is offered with three different motors with different power levels, depending on the rider's age and skill level. For the 17 kW version the vehicle can accelerate from in 4.5 seconds. The Karo also comes with a built-in wireless cellphone charger and a detachable sound system.

Scalo Superelletra

The Scalo Superelletra debuted at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show. The car's name combines that of the earlier Scalo with a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the Italian ''Superleggera'' and ''elettrica'', indicating light weight and electric drive. Designed by

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The b ...

, the new car was longer than the original Scalo and featured a new carbon-fibre monocoque chassis. Motive power is still electric, with a quartet of motors, one at each wheel, capable of producing a total of . The car is to carry the driver and two passengers, seated three-abreast with the driver in the middle.

IISB-One

The IISB-One is a car that began life as an Artega GT and was modified to accept an electric drivetrain by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology. The car received two electric motors to drive the rear wheels and a lithium battery pack to power them. Each motor was capable of delivering up to to its associated wheel. The car was also a test-bed for a variety of charging system, having three different system on board.

Motorsports

Artega's racing arm, Artega Rennsport, fielded an Artega GT prepared for racing (and relabeled ''GTR'') at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

in 2011. In 2014 a one-make series called the Artega GT Cup was started.

References

External links

* * {{Automotive industry in Germany 2006 establishments in Germany Car manufacturers of Germany Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2006 German brands Sports car manufacturers Paderborn (district)