Detroit Electric SP:01 — New Pics
It looks as though Detroit Electric is gearing up to finally release its first production model, after a fair number of hold-ups and delays, as per recent reports.
The first model, the SP:01, has had its production appearance “finalized” — with what the company has described as being a more aerodynamic design.
More interesting than the appearance, though, are the new performance specs from the company. Notably, the model now has a top speed of 155 mph, and can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. So, the acceleration isn’t quite as fast as in the Tesla Model S P85D, but not that far off either.
As far as matching it against the Tesla Roadster goes, it’s slightly quicker and lighter (2,590 lbs), but possesses a notably lower single-charge-range — 179 miles between charges as compared to 400 miles between charges for the Roadster.
Gas2 provides further information and thoughts:
But the Detroit Electric does have two different vehicle-to-grid capabilities, and it has already secured it a sizable order of vehicles for a zero-emissions island in South Korea. The 360 POWERBACK system, as its called, can power a home like many EVs, but it also has the capability of transferring its energy to another electric car, a unique feature of dubious usefulness I must admit. So what will all this cost you? Well the automaker has apparently finalized everything but price, though last I heard it was in the $120,000 to $135,000 range…about what you’d pay for the 691 horsepower P85D. You can, however, get a manual transmission in the SP:01, something Tesla has never offered.
Detroit Electric has big plans for a follow-up vehicle to the SP:01, but considering it’s taken over 7 years just to get the finalized look of their first car, none of us should hold out hope for its debut anytime soon. That said, I do believe Detroit Electric SP:01 will (finally) begin production soon… but will anyone care?
That’s certainly a good point. It’s hard (as of what’s out there right now) to see any real reason for someone to choose a Detroit Electric SP:01 over one of Tesla’s offerings (which are looking likely to be a fair deal less expensive than the SP:01 as well). Tesla seems to have a better offering in most regards. And, for that matter, is actually based in the US — despite what you may assume based on the name, Detroit Electric has apparently decided to move its headquarters and production to Britain. Hmm….
But maybe we’ll be surprised and there’s more to the SP:01 than there appears to be right now.
Image Credit: Detroit Electric
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LOL why would Tesla offer “a manual transmission” :-D. It has better acceleration without a gearbox.
Europeans are used to manual transmissions.
I’m Belgian so I’ve barely driven a car that wasn’t manual :-). My point is: how can Tesla offer manual transmission in a car with a single speed?
The downside to automatics as I’ve experienced is the sometimes awkward and unexpected shifts. But that is not a problem in a car that has no transmission at all and outperforms every other production car.