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Move over conventional sports cars, Detroit Electric’s SP:01 is here to redeﬁne speed... without razing down rain forests.

GO GREEN! THE EXHORTATION is everywhere, from hoardings and posters on public buses to our boob tube and newspapers. And with alternative modes of transport being more and more accessible, we just have some very weak excuses left not to at least look at the greener side of the grass.

Except when it comes to performance. Performance is the last bastion of conventional cars. That acrid smell of oil, burnt fuel and spent gases, that crescendo from the exhaust as you mash the throttle right into the floor and that snick-snick of the ‘box as the cogs seamlessly fall into place is something that alternative vehicles haven’t been able to match yet. Despite all their virtues – and there are a lot of them – alternative cars have fallen flat when it comes to performance, but the scenario is gradually changing now, with cars like the Fisker Karma and the Tesla Roadster leading the charge of the electric brigade. Now, there’s a new player on the block, albeit one with a heritage as old as the car itself.

Detroit Electric, one of the original electric car innovators, began life in 1906 and established itself as the market leader and most prolific manufacturer of electric cars. Their automobiles were mainly sold to drivers of the fair sex and physicians who desired the dependable and immediate start without the physically demanding hand cranking of the engine that was required in early internal combustion engine automobiles. The company went on to make some 13,000 vehicles by 1939 after which it folded, but not before it cinched the electric vehicle production world record for the 20th century.

Now, seemingly out of the blue, the company is back, showing off its Lotus-based SP:01 prototype in Shanghai. They are dead serious about it too, having worked on it for the last five years and are now putting it on sale in a limited number.

A limited-edition, two-seat, pure-electric sports car, the SP:01 sets a new benchmark for performance and handling in the electric vehicle segment. In terms of sheer performance, there’s no equalling this car, as is expected of a car that is the brainchild of Albert Lam, who had been CEO of the USA Lotus Engineering Group and executive director of Lotus Cars. Boasting of an impressive top speed of 249 km/h and capable of the 0-100 km/h sprint in a blistering 3.7 seconds, the SP:01 is the world’s fastest pure-electric production car. The SP:01’s exceptional performance is owed in large part to its excellent power-to-weight ratio. The rear-wheel-drive SP:01 features a compact, mid-mounted 204 PS electric motor (delivering 225 Nm of torque), a lightweight, purpose-designed battery pack and all-new carbon-fibre bodywork. In true Colin Chapman tradition, the total weight is just a midge over 1,000 kg, contributing to the SP:01’s superior driving dynamics and class-leading handling.

With an impressive energy storage capacity of 37 kWh, the battery gives the SP:01 a range of almost 310 kilometres between recharges, when tested to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standard. Detroit Electric’s home charging unit will enable drivers to charge their SP:01, with full charge achieved in 4.3 hours. The vehicle is based on a strong yet lightweight aluminium platform and is being launched following a five-year development and road-test programme. As well as the all-new carbon-fibre bodywork, similar to that used in Formula One vehicle chassis, the SP:01 also features specialised performance-tuned suspension, steering and brake systems to provide class-leading ride and handling characteristics. An all-disc braking system, coupled with ABS (anti-lock braking system), regenerative braking technology and ESP (electronic stability control) is fitted as standard, ensuring excellent stopping power.

The SP:01 is already on sale in the US and, as we go to press, 35 people have committed to buying this electric speed whiz as and when production begins, for the price of US $1,35,000. A prediction: if the future is composed of more cars like this, we have nothing to fear.