Whisper it, but the fuel of the future for the world’s most committed petrol heads may not be petrol at all.
Indeed, the very same technology that powers the supercar’s nemesis, the usually-urban electric car, could be about to herald a new revolution in performance car technology and design.
It was EV pioneer Tesla that first introduced the modern world to the idea of an all-electric sports car, less than 10 years ago. The 2008 Tesla Roadster was based on the bodyshell of a Lotus Elise, but was finished in California, fitted with Tesla’s own lithium-ion battery technology.
As well as being the first commercially available electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster was also the first electric car to have a range of over 200 miles.
Unsurprisingly, it had its limitations. For example, a full charge would take several hours, with no fast charge option initially. But what the Roadster did was show that electric cars weren’t quite the compromise that critics had always claimed they were. Here was a technology that, although in its infancy, was already capable of delivering a range comparable to that of a small petrol tank (around 200 miles), along with performance to rival that of a powerful conventionally-fuelled car. The Roadster had a top speed of just 125mph, but could hit 60mph from a standstill in just 3.9 seconds.
Tesla, then, seeded the idea of an electric sports car, but it would be another five years before a genuine electric supercar would make its debut, with German manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Audi entering a head-to-head battle to bring the first true powerhouses to the EV market.
While Audi made the most noise, its R8 e-tron being one of the most eagerly anticipated cars of recent times, it was the Mercedes-AMG SLS Electric Drive that was first to the chequered flag. The SLS’s bodywork may have been classically aged, but there was nothing old-fashioned about the car’s running gear.
Under the rather striking electrochromatic exterior was a 60kWh lithium-ion battery pack developed by Mercedes’s own engineers, which fed its instant torque directly to the wheels via four electric motors, working in synchronicity to deliver the equivalent of 740bhp and 737 lb ft (999Nm) of torque to all four wheels.
That instant torque meant that power delivery was brutal. As in, quicker-than-a-Veyron brutal. If there were fears that an oil-free future meant that the enjoyment of high performance cars would be cast asunder, there was no longer a reason to worry. Admittedly, it would only manage 155 miles per charge, and it needed hooking up to the mains for three hours before it could again be released into the wild, but the £305,000 gullwing Merc was as much of a sports car pioneer as the 300SL Gullwing of the 1950s.
The R8 e-tron appeared less than a year later, and was a more usable, refined piece of kit. 700kg lighter than the SLS, and rear-drive as opposed to the standard R8’s quattro four-wheel-drive, the e-tron was an £850,000 showboat for what Audi’s engineers were capable of. The stats were impressive – 375bhp, 0-60mph in 4.0 seconds, 275 miles per charge and a recharge time of less than an hour indicating that the R8 would be a more usable proposition in real-world terms than the Mercedes. Although never in series production (that, we’re promised, will come with the next generation), the e-tron paved the way for usable electric versions of Audi’s more mainstream cars, and (arguably more importantly) made the technology aspirational.
In 2014, the first all-electric single-seater race series began. Today, many pundits tip the Formula-E series to become the ultimate successor to Formula One, with F1 stalwart Renault being one of the first onto the bandwagon. Renault – also a pioneer of conventional EVs – supplied the powertrain to the first series of Formula E, and since then other manufacturers have come on board to help the series evolve, including Jaguar, Venturi, DS and US racing car maker Penske.
Motorsport traditionally drives and refines technology for the masses, with on-track technology filtering down onto the mainstream market as it becomes cheaper, easier to build and more reliable.
And that may, in part, explain why nearly all of today’s new supercars are coming from EV start-up businesses. That, of course, is great news. But what we really need to start the ball rolling is an electric supercar in series production from a brand that symbolizes the breed.
What’s that you say? The Porsche Mission E? Yes, Germany’s most iconic performance brand has confirmed that its first all-electric supercar will go into series production in 2020. It may be a fledgling idea at the moment, but as soon as the big guns join the party, electric drive looks set to revolutionise the supercar industry. And for Porsche, this isn’t just a toe-in-the-water – it has recently confirmed a 700 million euro investment into a new production facility and 700 new jobs on the back of the Mission E. The electric supercar isn’t just here to stay – it’s set to become the next big thing…
Top five electric supercars
Renault Trezor
On the back of Renault’s pioneering presence in Formula-E, the Trezor concept promises the equivalent of 350bhp and 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds, along with an achingly cool clamshell roof instead of doors. A production model is expected by 2020.
Dendrobium
Previewed at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the 200mph Vanda Dendrobium is one of the most unusually named cars in recent memory. It is also the only supercar ever to emerge from Singapore, with engineering expertise courtesy of the Williams F1 team. A dendrobium is a type of orchid, by the way.
Rimac Concept_One
The stats for the Rimac are remarkable – 1,071bhp, 205mph and price on application. It’s also the only car ever to feature an underscore in its name. The last car to come out of Croatia was the Yugo Zastava, so the Rimac is quite a contrast…
NIO EP9
The $1.2 million NIO EP9 is a roadgoing car based on the running gear of the NextEV Formula E racing car. It has the equivalent of an eye-watering 1,340bhp, can do 0-60mph in 2.7 seconds and tops out at 194mph.
Elextra
The Lamborghini-esque Elextra is the quickest accelerating electric car ever, capable of hitting 60mph from a standstill in just 2.3 seconds. It’s also a true four-door, four-seater with a Lamborghini-esque profile. You just would, wouldn’t you?