Voxan to close down
The owner of the French manufacturer, reborn as an e-bike concern just two years ago, has decided to bring down the curtains – and with it the macho Wattman prototypeFrench marque Voxan is no longer, with its Monaco-based owner deciding to pull the pin on the 20-year-old company.
The dead end means the mighty Wattman power cruiser, unveiled at the Paris motor show in 2013 as Voxan began its renaissance as an e-bike manufacturer—falling into line with its electric luxury car-based owner—won't see the light of day, which is a shame as the specs were impressive: 200hp and 200Nm of torque (good enough for 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds), and held together by an amalgam of the 12.8kwh battery pack, charger and cooling system in an ‘exoskeleton’ design.
Gildo Pastor, the owner of Venturi electric cars, purchased Voxan in 2010 after it was placed into liquidation the year before, but it's been nearly a decade since a Voxan has come off a production line, then using the company's modular 72-degree 996cc V-twin.
Voxan has never been sold in Australia.
The Wattman was the only Voxan prototype produced under the Venturi reign, and the company certainly hasn't closed down because the bike didn't show promise—instead health problems and the assassination of his mother saw Pastor re-evaluate his future. And it's now obvious Voxan and his car brand didn't play a part in that.
According to a French motoring website, Pastor is set to become the next Consul of Monaco in New York. Sounds like a plum gig to us.
With Voxan closing, is there a sliver of hope that an investor will now come along and turn the Wattman into a reality?
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