Photo: Genovation
It seems like there is a currently a buzzing market for high-speed electric supercars - there has to be; otherwise, we wouldn't have companies coming up with these vehicles that cost more than a small island in the Carribean.
Truth be told, the Chevrolet Corvette C7 Grand Sport that Genovation converted into the Genovation Extreme Electric (or the GXE, in short) has a lot going for it. A few months ago, the same company modified a Z06 by installing an electric drivetrain and took it to NASA's landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
There, the car registered a top speed of 205.6 mph (330.9 km/h), becoming the fastest street-legal electric vehicle in the world. The modified Corvette had to beat its own previous record of 186 mph (300.6 km/h) it had achieved this spring.
So unlike other companies who are selling somewhat similar products - like the Rimac Concept_One, for example - who don't have anything to show for themselves except a very promising car, Genovation can insist on its vehicle holding the world record for fastest EV. That should give the marketing department something to work with.
However, it's not all rosy for Genovation. The GXE comes with a 44 kWh battery pack, and the company hasn't whispered a word on the maximum range offered by this setup. There's also the question of how long the GXE will be able to maintain that top speed. We know that Tesla's Model S has a 155 mph (250 km/h) limiter installed to protect the battery, and even so it won't allow the vehicle to run at that speed for too long.
Without the limiter, the Model S would probably be able to meet, if not beat the GXE's performance, which isn't particularly good news for Genovation. That's because it essentially means that the company expects its buyers to shell out $750,000 for a car that looks just like a Corvette, and also has a smaller-capacity battery pack than a Model S (less than half, actually, considering there's a 100 kWh option now). On top of that, its special thing (the top speed) isn't really all that special.
Getting a GXE won't be easy, either. Genovation will only produce 75 of them, because if they took exclusivity away, they'd really be left with nothing. What's more, those who want one will have to make $250,000 deposits, and also arm themselves with patience: the first deliveries are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2019. By that time, they will also look slightly outdated.
Genovation is basically doing what Tesla did with the Roadster eight years ago, only at a more exclusive level. We have no doubt they will find 75 people willing to entrust the company with a quarter of a million for a minimum of three years (after which they'll have to pay half a million more), but forgive us if we're not too excited. Besides, if we'd willingly add one quarter more and go straight for the Rimac Concept_One.
There, the car registered a top speed of 205.6 mph (330.9 km/h), becoming the fastest street-legal electric vehicle in the world. The modified Corvette had to beat its own previous record of 186 mph (300.6 km/h) it had achieved this spring.
So unlike other companies who are selling somewhat similar products - like the Rimac Concept_One, for example - who don't have anything to show for themselves except a very promising car, Genovation can insist on its vehicle holding the world record for fastest EV. That should give the marketing department something to work with.
However, it's not all rosy for Genovation. The GXE comes with a 44 kWh battery pack, and the company hasn't whispered a word on the maximum range offered by this setup. There's also the question of how long the GXE will be able to maintain that top speed. We know that Tesla's Model S has a 155 mph (250 km/h) limiter installed to protect the battery, and even so it won't allow the vehicle to run at that speed for too long.
Without the limiter, the Model S would probably be able to meet, if not beat the GXE's performance, which isn't particularly good news for Genovation. That's because it essentially means that the company expects its buyers to shell out $750,000 for a car that looks just like a Corvette, and also has a smaller-capacity battery pack than a Model S (less than half, actually, considering there's a 100 kWh option now). On top of that, its special thing (the top speed) isn't really all that special.
Getting a GXE won't be easy, either. Genovation will only produce 75 of them, because if they took exclusivity away, they'd really be left with nothing. What's more, those who want one will have to make $250,000 deposits, and also arm themselves with patience: the first deliveries are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2019. By that time, they will also look slightly outdated.
Genovation is basically doing what Tesla did with the Roadster eight years ago, only at a more exclusive level. We have no doubt they will find 75 people willing to entrust the company with a quarter of a million for a minimum of three years (after which they'll have to pay half a million more), but forgive us if we're not too excited. Besides, if we'd willingly add one quarter more and go straight for the Rimac Concept_One.
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