Electric start-up Detroit Electric has finally revealed its first product, the SP:01 – a two-seat electric roadster based on the Lotus Elise. We were first given an idea that the SP:01 was on its way back in March, when DE gave us the
first teaser image
of the new car; now, full details and proper pictures have finally been released.
SP:01's Elise underpinnings are clear
What’s immediately obvious, and perhaps more so than in its Tesla rival’s lines, is the Lotus backbone of the new car. Its
Elise
roots are barely hidden – perhaps no surprise, as DE’s CEO Albert Lam was formerly a Lotus chief. Under the skin, though, it’s all change, with a 204hp electric motor that delivers 166lb ft of torque and a 0-62mph time of just 3.7 seconds. DE also claims that its range will exceed 180 miles.
Unlike the Tesla, however, the SP:01 will feature a manual transmission with four ratios for “optimal acceleration” – although it does add that “there is little need to change gear regularly to ensure brisk progress”. The body, meanwhile, will feature an aluminium platform and carbon fibre bodywork, with the result that weight will be kept down to just 1,067kg. You’ll have to really, really want one, though, as just 999 will be built, each costing $135,000 – a shade under £90,000 at today’s exchange rate.
Next Tesla will "push the envelope"
Detroit Electric will represent the first direct rival to
Tesla
, which so far has had the electric roadster market to itself. So it’s no surprise that on the morning of the SP:01’s unveiling, Tesla has also revealed some details of its next roadster. Talking to
Autocar
, Tesla’s vice president of sales & ownership experience, George Blankenship, said that the next-generation Roadster will “push the envelope beyond what anybody else is doing”. To this end, he cited increased range, beyond the 200 miles of the first-generation car, and a 0-62mph time of well below four seconds.
The next roadster will arrive in about five years time, after Tesla has established the Model S and Model X, by which time, Blankenship added, the company hopes to have a presence in the UK with a dealership in London.
[Sources: Detroit Electric; Autocar]