Detroit Electric Shows Off New Electric Sports Car
Detroit Electric giving a look at the rear end of what it considers the final version of its SP:01 battery-fueled electric sports car.
The car will be somewhat similar to the Tesla Roadster no longer in production. Both are pure battery-power two-seaters based on Lotus designs. Detroit Electric’s founder is former Lotus executive Albert Lam, former Group CEO of the Lotus Engineering Group and Executive Director of Lotus Cars of England.
Detroit Electric says its car will not be a roadster — open car — but rather a hatchback for better aerodynamics, longer range, higher speed.
Production is to begin late this year, and sales are to begin early next year in Asia, Europe and North America. No price has been announced.
The company was founded in 2008 and named after an electric car company that was successful in the early 1900s. It said in March 2013 that it would build as many as 2,500 sports cars a year in Michigan, but it didn’t say exactly where.
Now the plan is to build all the cars in a new, dedicated Detroit Electric production facility in Leamington Spa, England, beginning late this year.
The company claims that its lightweight, limited-edition SP:01 will be the world’s fastest production electric sports car: top speed, 155 mph; 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds. It hasn’t given a driving range between battery recharges.
The changes since the 2013 Shanghai showing include a fastback design with smoother rooofline, a rear spoiler and heating-cooling system improvements.
The vehicle’s battery packs have been clad in a protective composite casing which forms an integral part of the vehicle’s structure and makes the car stiffer. It also helps protect the batteries in a crash.
Jerry Chung, design chief at Detroit Electric, said: “The final design of SP:01 incorporates signature Detroit Electric design DNA, carried over from the prototype model we revealed last year. Coupled with many motorsport visual cues, the new fastback design, bold face and sharp contours evoke the company’s vision of pure electric performance.”
Source: USA Today
