Detroit Electric Sports Car Unveiled — SP:01

Detroit Electric Sports Car Unveiled — SP:01:

We reposted an article about Detroit Electric’s revival less than two weeks ago. At the time, there was no image beyond this one to give us a sneak peak of the car:

New Detroit Electric sports car to be revealed in April 2013. (PRNewsFoto/Detroit Electric)

But Detroit Electric hasn’t taken long to unveil one, or several. Here are a few (see a few more over on Gas2):











Here’s some text on the car from Gas2, as well:

When Tesla Roadster production ceased, the world was suddenly left without a fast, fun, and (comparatively) affordable all-electric sports car. The revival of the Detroit Electric name hopes to change that with the SP:01, a Lotus-based electric coupe that will begin production this summer. In many ways, this is like the Tesla Roadster 2.0…but with a hardtop roof.

Let’s skip all the hyperbole and get straight to the meat and potatoes. The Detroit Electric SP:01 uses a custom made carbon fiber body based on the Lotus Exige, a hardtop version of the Lotus Elise, which underpins the Tesla Roadster. Power comes from two 37 kWh battery packs motivating an AC electric motor that makes 201 horsepower and 166 ft-lbs of torque.

That doesn’t sound like a lot, but its apparently enough power to sprint from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, the same time as a Tesla. The Detroit Electric also offers between 150 and 180 miles of driving range, depending on how you measure range. Again, this is comparable to the Tesla Roadster.

For more on one key difference between the SP:01 and the Roadster (hint: it concerns the transmission), check out the Gas2 post.

Detroit Electric Sports Car Unveiled — SP:01 was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).