Gone are the days when an electric vehicle looked like an ugly piece of metal that came out of a really low budget sci-fi film. New electric vehicles are fast, quick, feature loaded and beautifully sculpted products. The likes of BMW i8 and Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive have changed the way electric cars look, and perform.
One such company to launch its first product in the electric vehicle segment is Detroit Electric. The company claims that the brand’s first product, the lightweight, limited-edition SP:01 sportscar, will be the world’s fastest production electric vehicle when it goes on sale in European and Asian markets later this year and soon followed by the US introduction.
Detroit Electric has secured additional investment following an initial reveal of the SP:01 in the first quarter of last year. The car has since undergone extensive further development, heralding significant changes to enhance its aerodynamic performance and improve interior comfort and quality. The EV is currently undergoing engineering sign-off tests, and the final styling of the car will be revealed in the coming weeks.
All the cars will be manufactured in a new, dedicated Detroit Electric production facility in Leamington Spa, UK, which will progressively increase staff levels to 80 by the end of the first quarter of 2015.
The SP:01 is a rear-wheel-drive vehicle which features a compact, mid-mounted 210kW electric motor. Detroit Electric claims that the SP:01 has a top speed of 249kph and reach a ton mark from a stand still in 3.9 seconds.
The cabin of the SP:01 is packed features which includes company’s Smartphone Application Managed Infotainment (SAMI) system. SAMI provides access to everything from the music player, satellite navigation and interior lighting to vehicle systems statuses such as battery level and range to recharge. SAMI even acts as a remote control via GSM – enabling users to locate the vehicle and operate the climate control system.
Expressing his views on the upcoming electric vehicle, SP:01, Chairman & CEO of Detroit Electric, Albert Lam said, “We’re truly delighted that we’re just weeks away from bringing to fruition our plans to introduce Detroit Electric’s first pure electric sports car. With a new production facility in the UK, a magnificent EMEA headquarters in The Netherlands and plans to engineer and assemble vehicles in the USA, the world will soon be able to experience the pure electric performance of our range of exciting and innovative Detroit Electric vehicles.”
Lam further added, “While Detroit was our preferred initial assembly location, the regulatory process for the production and sale of the SP:01 in the US has taken longer then expected,” he added. “That means the assembly operations have to be located in Europe to allow us to bring the vehicle to market globally in line with our timing plans. We’re growing our team at the company’s headquarters in Detroit and we are committed to bringing investment and jobs to the Detroit economic area in the very near future.”
The SP:01 will spearhead a diverse family of all-electric production cars, including an electric 2+2 supercar and a sedan model that will be engineered, developed and assembled at a planned facility in Michigan.
All said and done, be assured that we are going to have performance vehicles, even when we run out of fuel.
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