Everything Electric: Supercars and Sedans Keep Moving EVs Forward
A tease of Elektron’s all-electric supercar leaves us wanting more. Plus: Porsche Taycan surpasses its EPA range, and a hot sedan from China offers new features.
This week the stories in e-mobility spanned a range of cars and vehicles. There were a few cars and news stories that really struck an exciting chord for the e-mobility community. This week Everything Electric will look at a new hypercar that bends the laws of gravity, how Porsche Taycan faired in the real world for its estimated range, and how the next big thing in electric vehicles might be ready to take on the market.
Elektron Motors Truva Supercar
This year, Elektron Motors was one of a handful of automakers that really pushed limits of EV performance; and with stunning results. Their Quasar EV is capable of a scorching 2,300 hp; and flying from zero to 62 miles per hour in 1.65 seconds. As a companion to the Quasar, Elektron has created the 1,400 hp Truva.
Truva will use a composite chassis, and employ a pushrod suspension system. And a “tamer” version of the Quasar, the Truva uses three motors instead of four, with two motors powering the rear axle and one at the front. With 1,400 hp and shapely sports car style, the Truva is aesthetically very appealing, and vivid, purpose-built, it has a lot of energy.
Both cars will be released in 2023, in limited numbers.
Porsche Taycan Bests the EPA
For only the second time ever, Car & Driver found a vehicle outperformed the EPA-estimated range. The 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S–the base model–is rated 225 miles per charge by the EPA.
But when Car & Driver put it to the test in real world conditions, they discovered that Porsche was capable of much more.
“The base Taycan with the larger battery traveled 280 miles in our 75-mph highway test, making it only the second EV to best its EPA range in C/D testing,” they write. Equipped with the “Performance Battery Plus,” the Porsche not only beat the estimated range, they did so by quite a lot.
“We suspect that part of the Taycan’s standout range is due to its two-speed transmission on the rear axle that allows the motor to spin at a lower and more efficient speed while cruising at interstate speeds,” they add.
XPeng P5 Sedan Launches
Chinese EV automaker Xpeng officially launched the P5, an electric sedan. It just made its debut in China, and it seems that the high-tech electric car plans to launch in Europe soon.
As an affordable electric sedan, the XPeng P5 will hopefully be able to ride the wave of a small but growing interest in sedans. It is a great option to have in a market saturated with crossovers.
But the XPeng P5 also has advanced smart EV technology, safety and innovation. With a price tag of $24,500 this looks to be a big seller. It includes great range, advanced driver assistance systems, and LiDAR. Certainly the inclusion of LiDAR could hint at autonomous driving functions and enhanced connectivity.
P5 also bears the distinction of being the first series-production vehicle with automotive-grade lidar technology included.
Lets hope that the good news keeps on coming.
Images: Elektron Motors; Porsche; XPeng