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Detroit Electric SP:01 Sports Car Boasts With Pure Electric Performance

If you thought that the electric passenger car is a relatively new concept, think again. An EV held the land speed record until 1900, a time when the internal combustion engine still had a lot of flaws and the Ford Model T wasn't even in production. To boot, an American firm called Detroit Electric sold about 13,000 electric vehicles from 1907 to 1939, which is almost a century before Tesla Motors ventured in this highly technologized automotive segment.
Detroit Electric SP:01 1 photo
Photo: Detroit Electric
Although Detroit Electric went belly up in the middle of the Great Depression, the company was revived a few years ago by Albert Lam, a bloke that worked in executive positions over at Lotus Cars of England. A few years after the takeover, here we are today, in the middle of preparations for the upcoming launch of the Detroit Electric SP:01 electric sports car.

With deliveries slated for the first quarter of 2015 and the order books already open, the company released a teaser video of what to expect from the upcoming SP:01. Unfortunately, the footage isn't as revealing as we expected, but nevertheless, it offers a glimpse at how the SP:01 electric sports car will look like in production-ready clothes. But what's it packing underneath that aerodynamic body shell?

Well, the Detroit Electric SP:01 is a limited run model that aims to fill the gap left open by the now defunct Tesla Roadster. Boasting with a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) acceleration of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph (250km/h), the emissions-free two-seater SP:01 is sending 210 kW (281 horsepower) to its rear wheels via a compact, mid-mounted electric motor.

3,880 mm (152.7 inches) long, 1,751 mm (68.9 inches) wide and standing at 1,117 mm (43.97 inches) from the ground, the Detroit Electric SP:01 is a true lightweight at its 1,125 kilos (2,480 lbs) and offers a NEDC cycle range of 288 km (178 miles) from its 37 kWh battery pack. Last but not least, the base model is offered with a glass reinforced polymer body, but you can also spec it with a lighter carbon fiber shell.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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