The people behind the famously fast Ariel Atom are working on an electric supercar with 1,200 horsepower, reports.
According to the publication, Ariel’s electric supercar will be the fastest accelerating and most technologically advanced car on the planet when it arrives in 2020. The British brand says the all-wheel drive two-seater will be capable of accelerating from 0-100 mph in 3.8 seconds and would weigh around 1,600 kg, or about 3,500 lbs.
Codenamed P40, the lightweight EV will be powered by four separate electric motors producing just under 300 horsepower. The energy will come from a 42 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack mounted low in the car’s base. The battery will be joined by a turbine range extender, which will allow the car to continue driving once the 100-120 mile EV range has been depleted. As a result, the P40 should be good for about 15-minutes of flat out track driving before needing a fast charge, which would take about 50 minutes.
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The early performance figures seem downright bonkers. With 1,180 horsepower on tap and 1,328 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 mph sprints of just 2.4 seconds will be possible and the 0-150 mph dance will be done with in just under 8 seconds. The max speed would be restricted to 160 mph. An advanced traction control system, torque vectoring and regenerative braking will ensure it’s equally as impressive through the corners.
“We’re building tomorrow’s aspirational car using our small-company agility to beat the big companies,” Ariel’s Simon Saunders told. “We love the Ariels we make now, but we know we have to embrace new technology. If we don’t, in 20 years we’ll be making antiques, and we could even be legislated out of existence.”
With a production date scheduled for sometime in 2020, we should see an early draft for Ariel’s ridiculous high-performance EV come about in 2019.
[Source: Autocar]
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