Artega Automobile

Artega Automobil GmbH & Co. KG is a German sports car manufacturer based in Delbrück, Germany. 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 in July 2012. It was reacquired by a company under Frers' control that same year and eventually resumed production, specializing in electric vehicles.

Company

Artega was founded by Klaus Dieter Frers, a mechanical engineer who worked for AEG-Telefunken before moving to Nixdorf Computer 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 AG, becoming CEO of Artega.

In March 2011, Artega unveiled an electric 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.

Models

GT

The Artega GT was a two-seat hardtop coupé with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. 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, who had designed the Aston Martin DB9, styled the car.

Power came from a direct-injection version of Volkswagen's VR6 engine. 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 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 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 37kWh 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 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

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