Norwegian fairy tale: large electric crossover Fresco XL with a “solar trailer”

Norwegian electric vehicle startup Fresco Motors has revived again after a long silence and showed an updated version of its debut model, the three-row crossover Fresco XL.

Fresco Motors, led by CEO Espen Kvalvik, first publicly announced itself in 2019: then it published computer renderings of a mid-size electric sedan (possibly a liftback) called Reverie and began accepting pre-orders for it. Fresco Reverie was promised a large range on a single charge and the dynamic qualities of a supercar: acceleration to “hundreds” in 2 seconds and a “maximum speed” of 300 km/h. Some time after this wonderful announcement, the Fresco Motors corporate website stopped working, the Fresco Motors pages on social networks stopped updating, and everyone happily forgot about the Norwegian startup.

Early renders of Fresco XL 1/2 Early renders of Fresco XL 2/2

In February 2022, Fresco Motors came to life and announced that it was in forced hibernation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned to work with a new project: the Reverie was replaced by another debut model — the three-row eight-seat crossover Fresco XL with an extremely minimalistic single-volume design , reminiscent of an Apple computer mouse. The crossover was promised all-wheel drive and some kind of two-tier battery, a full charge of which would be enough for 1000 km of range even in the harsh Norwegian climate. The estimated price of the crossover at that time was about 100,000 euros.

Renderings of the future Fresco Motors campus 1/3 Renderings of the future Fresco Motors campus 2/3 Renderings of the future Fresco Motors campus 3/3

In March 2022, Fresco Motors announced the construction of its own giant campus with an absolutely fantastic design and powered by solar and wind energy. It is expected that Fresco Motors employees will live and work on this marvelous campus; it will have everything necessary for absolute happiness — beautiful parks, lakes, supermarkets, comfortable houses and excellent service. The exact location of the campus was not named, it was only reported that there would be an ocean, railroad tracks and an airport nearby, that is, the campus would not be cut off from the rest of the sinful world.

Alas, after the dazzling announcements of 2022, Fresco Motors again went into the shadows and did not publish anything for a long time, and this week a fresh press release finally appeared. In it, the Norwegian company reports that everything is fine with it, and that it is preparing to begin mass production of Fresco XL: mass production will be established on a contract basis outside of Norway at the facilities of a large partner, whose name has not yet been named, but there will also be small-scale assembly in the country itself. Norway. The start date for production has not yet been announced.

The design of the Fresco XL crossover has been slightly updated and has become more detailed: large vertical wipers have appeared on the sides of the windshield, starting right from the headlights; the Fresco XL has no hood at all. The front doors have acquired traditional and not the most aerodynamic-looking mirrors. The interior is visible through the glass, but it is not shown in detail: the Norwegian company only said that there will also be extreme minimalism and only one instrument screen, and the seats will have memory foam (such seats, by the way, have long been available in Citroen cars).

The Fresco XL will have a four-engine power plant, its power has not yet been revealed. The target range of 1000 km on one charge has been confirmed in the latest press release, and for those who find this not enough, an interesting solar trailer option is addressed — a trailer with solar panels that will recharge the battery on the go during daylight hours.

We would like to add that now is not the best time for electric vehicle startups: against the background of a global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles and a poor investment climate, such startups are pouring in one after another, and we will not be surprised if Fresco Motors is again for a long time, if not forever, it will fall off the news agenda.