TopGear.com: The world's fastest electric car? That's the claim of Detroit Electric about its newly fastback SP:01. 282bhp, 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.
Remember the Detroit Electric SP:01? Announced in 2013, it followed a well-thumbed recipe - electrifying a Lotus Elise - and promised to be an esoteric entrant in the eco-friendly sports car class.
Well, it's back and in production form ahead of official sales in 2015. And it's a bit different to before, adopting a new fastback body which lends it bold new rear styling as well as better handling, thanks to its new rear wing and diffuser combination.
As a result, it looks helpfully different to an Elise or a Tesla Roadster, with a hint of the wonderfully hardcore original Exige about it now. Good job, given it's set to cost around £80,000, a figure quickly approaching BMW i8 money.
Under the skin, a 282bhp electric motor drives the rear wheels. With a hot hatch-like weight of 1175kg, it's enough to hustle the SP:01 to 155mph via a 3.7sec 0-60mph time.
That, in Detroit Electric's words, makes this the "world's fastest production electric sports car". It also uses a manual gear selector, which intrigues us greatly given electric cars are typically single-speed.
There is a single-speed version too, with a less powerful 201bhp version serving up a 106mph top speed and 5.3sec sprint to 60mph.
A 180-mile range from full charged is touted for both, though expect this to drop notably if you intend on exercising Detroit Electric's claims of superlative performance.
While Detroit Electric is, somewhat predictably, based in the US, the SP:01 will be built in the UK. Sales will be limited to 999 units.
USAToday.com put it this way: 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.
It also plans a European headquarters in Houten, Netherlands, where the company has recruited a new team to manage the brand's sales and marketing, as well as customer service in the region.
The company's h.q. remains on the 18th floor of the Fisher Building in downtown Detroit, and that site also becomes the financial center and will oversee North American activities.
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."
[ConnEVted note: The Tesla Model S P85D is faster, so it's a silly false claim]
Remember the Detroit Electric SP:01? Announced in 2013, it followed a well-thumbed recipe - electrifying a Lotus Elise - and promised to be an esoteric entrant in the eco-friendly sports car class.
Well, it's back and in production form ahead of official sales in 2015. And it's a bit different to before, adopting a new fastback body which lends it bold new rear styling as well as better handling, thanks to its new rear wing and diffuser combination.
As a result, it looks helpfully different to an Elise or a Tesla Roadster, with a hint of the wonderfully hardcore original Exige about it now. Good job, given it's set to cost around £80,000, a figure quickly approaching BMW i8 money.
Under the skin, a 282bhp electric motor drives the rear wheels. With a hot hatch-like weight of 1175kg, it's enough to hustle the SP:01 to 155mph via a 3.7sec 0-60mph time.
That, in Detroit Electric's words, makes this the "world's fastest production electric sports car". It also uses a manual gear selector, which intrigues us greatly given electric cars are typically single-speed.
There is a single-speed version too, with a less powerful 201bhp version serving up a 106mph top speed and 5.3sec sprint to 60mph.
A 180-mile range from full charged is touted for both, though expect this to drop notably if you intend on exercising Detroit Electric's claims of superlative performance.
While Detroit Electric is, somewhat predictably, based in the US, the SP:01 will be built in the UK. Sales will be limited to 999 units.
USAToday.com put it this way: 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.
It also plans a European headquarters in Houten, Netherlands, where the company has recruited a new team to manage the brand's sales and marketing, as well as customer service in the region.
The company's h.q. remains on the 18th floor of the Fisher Building in downtown Detroit, and that site also becomes the financial center and will oversee North American activities.
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."
