Car Manufacturer News
Detroit Electric Moves Closer to Actual Production
Move over, Tesla Motors, because Detroit Electric wants to show everyone just how sexy and incredibly fun driving an electric car can really be. At least, that’s what the startup automaker claims it will do, which it has been saying for some time. It also says that it will claim the title of the world’s fastest electric production vehicle.
Are you impressed? If not, you certainly aren’t alone. But believe in it or not, Detroit Electric is moving closer to the production of its SP:01 electric sports car. Ironically, the car is based on the Lotus Elise, just like the ill-fated Tesla Roadster that even Elon Musk would like to see buried and forgotten forever and ever. The SP:01, however, uses a 37-kilowatt lithium-ion battery and a 201 kilowatt electric motor to produce 200 horsepower.
Still not impressed? While it’s roughly the same output of the 2014 Honda Civic Si, the SP:01 is a much lighter car, and it benefits from 100 percent torque delivery at 0 rpm. The company says that the car can go up to 155 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. Just try doing that in your mom’s Civic.
The electric motor is mounted in the middle and the car is rear-wheel drive. Part of the secret of the car’s low curb weight is the lack of a big, heavy gasoline engine. The other part of the secret is a body that is made from Glass Reinforced Polymer, or GRP.
While the automaker has been dogged by setbacks for production of the SP:01, which have included the production site moving from Detroit to Holland, it is now saying that consumers can expect to see the car on U.S. roads in 2015. Really. No joking this time.
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