This should be the Britain’s answer to American Tesla! A design study by former McLaren designer Jim Dowle, the P1-E has astonishing specs : 0-60mph in 2.9 secs, 230 miles range, weight 1,055kg and price of £55,000 ($74,600). It seems to have everything it needs to take on the Tesla but all this mouth-watering numbers, like its gullwing-door sketches, are just on papers.
The good thing is the man behind this project is from McLaren so the car would be peoper driving machine, although being electric. The P1-E’s twin electric motors and attendant lithium-ion batteries are placed for optimum weight distribution and low centre of gravity, while the long wishbones front and rear ensure ideal suspension geometry.The P1-E will use a four-wheel-drive system to harness the 590lb ft of torque developed by the electric motors at either end of the chassis, with combined output for the twin motors expected to be 290kW (389bhp). Four-wheel drive endows the car with maximum traction. It also allows regenerative braking on each wheel, the energy gained from which is used to top up the batteries.
Said Dowle, “All the electric cars produced to date have been compromised in one way or another and most have been of little attraction to the enthusiast driver. We decided it was time to create an affordable electric sports car that combined the advantages of conventionally-engined machines with those of electric ones, without the disadvantages of either – in short, a drivers’ car for the 21st century. “Since February we’ve been busy finalizing the specification, fine-tuning the styling and seeking appropriate funding, and plan to have our first prototype up and running during 2009. Most of the program’s key partnerships are now in place, though we’d still welcome approaches from any companies interested in investing in our mould-breaking performance car. Another remaining task is to agree its final name, P1-E being the project’s code.”
