The future of transportation will likely be electric vehicles although a full-scale roll out from all manufacturers is still years from now. It’s a real shame Detroit Electric only operated between 1907 and 1939 and they were unable to continue production of electric vehicles after that. The world would be a lot different and possibly cleaner depending on the source of our electricity. Detroit Electric was revived back in 2008 and the company has finally revealed the final design of its SP:01 electric sports car after many broken promises of release dates and such. It’s still not quite ready but just about there.
According to Detroit Electric, the electric motor on the SP:01 puts out 285 horsepower and will come equipped with a manual gearbox as standard and a choice of two optional automatics: a single-speed or twin-speed. The vehicle first made a debut at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show but the styling has evolved some what and is said to have improved aerodynamics. You may have noticed, this is not a vehicle which was built from the ground up and actually uses the Lotus Elise as the donor body with some modifications.
Modifications such as a new fastback design, a reworked rear diffuser, and a new rear wing. Detroit Electric is promising a slew of options for customers including wheels, multiple paint options, carbon fiber spoilers, and battery covers.
On the interior, it’s again a modified Lotus Elise cabin with the addition of leather and an 8.4-inch touchscreen running off of Android SAMI (Smarphone Application Managed Infotainment) system. This infotainment system will replace all the analog dials and switches and allow the user access to a wide range of functions such as music, HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning), navigation, battery usage, and V2X (vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home).
Testing has been ongoing in the UK and production will begin early this year. There are no updates on exactly what the vehicle range will be but it was originally at 190 miles and 37kWh. The SP:01 is said to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and is capable of reaching a top speed of 155 mph.
The original pricing was also set at $135,000 but that may be lower once the car is available for purchase.
[Via: DEG]
