Trophy wife and this late-life crisis car: Detroit Electric

another Lotus Elise based car?

 

nicer than the Karma....?

 

2 California-based electric carmakers, Coda Automotive did not make it,
and Fisker Karma, bankruptcy or out of business? Fisker, A123 settle $140m supply claims for just $15 million

 

Yep, but this is based on the new elise chasis and is its own targa carbon fiber body. I have no idea why they need 5 speeds on the manual, but the biggest drawback here is price. Then again the much more expensive porsche phev 918 sold out quickly.

 

Bob you need to cool your brake pads when slowing down from 155 mph that requires functional airflow.

Tesla does have the flush door handles, that come out when you need them.

I'm not sure what car you are showing, but those bumpers appear to be the ones that complied with the old regulations and aren't legal in the US standards.

I kind of like the look of this new hybrid, they may have been going a little for the same look
Ferrari unveils V12 hybrid in Geneva - Mar. 5, 2013

 

Nice, I take it you like that look. To me it looks like the karmann ghia body style would be between cd 0.35-0.4, I couldn't find it by looking it up. Let me know if you have a better guestimate. I don't think vw had a wind tunnel to test designs in back then. The tesla roadster is 0.35, the porsche boxter is 0.29. My guess is the detroit electric's cd is around 0.3-0.35, but again, a wind tunnel is needed. Its low to the ground, which reduces frontal area, and the key to drag is cdA.

For low drag car design you can't beat the ev1 and vw xl1 with cd around 0.19. For production cars the prius (0.25) and tesla (0.24) led the pack, but Mercedes is muscling to the top at 0.23
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class will be the world's most aerodynamic series production vehicle
I like the look of the higher drag detroit electric better. cd is imporant to require a smaller battery for range, but it all matters how fast you want to go at that range. Here the new car falls a little short with an estimated range of 180 on the euro test. I think the slightly slower (4.4 seconds to 60) but much less expensive and more aero dynamic tesla S performance will be more desireable with its EPA range of 265 and free super chargers. For me 5.6 seconds to 60 is fast enough and I'm eyeing the 60kwh tesla S. With the lower range this thing needs to sell on handling and looks, and the lighter weight and lotus engineered handling will help. I think fisker would have been better off performing his contract to design the S well, and doing body designs on cars like this, instead of starting his own company.

 

I think Fisker Karma was designed for looks and ended up in the subcompact class, Model S designer IMO did much better, a car that is functional for family. Trip to Home Depot
I look at the specs page; Compare Side-by-Side

 

When Fisker was asked to design Tesla WhiteStar that morphed into the S, I'm sure he was given sized and drag constraints. The karma was designed more as a clean sheet design, which was designed for that class. I don't think you really want to breathe the rarified air up there and think sub compact though. Its got more passenger room than the fisker designed aston martin db9 or the ferrari california which are mini compacts. 0.31 cd is not bad in this class of cars.
Compare Side-by-Side
The problem was with execution on the business plan and the mechanicals of the car.

Detroit electric would definitely sell more with a fisker designed body. I have no idea how the mechanicals will end up, but the weight was a problem with the karma, and the detroit electric is less than 2500lbs. The body is carbon fiber, which means other than design costs it would not cost more as a sexier design.

 

The MSRP frightens me!

 

Maybe it should.

The car resembles the lotus exige, and maybe bob is right it may have a very high cd
2012 Lotus Exige S - Top Speed
Drag Coefficient 0.433
But it looks like it does some things to lower it. Being carbon fiber, they ought to be able to fix that before production if they want to change it. That cd is for the new model, but the detroit electric resembles the 2011.

 

I hope they make it, at $135,000, it is more expensive than Tesla Model S performance.

 

I'd say the odds are long against this company. The trick is if they can build a good follow on prouct.

The case for it - Tesla roadster sold 2400 units. This car accelerates faster and should handle better than the roadster. If this car lives up to its promise it will be a 3.7 second 0 to 100 kmh. The la ferrari hybrid is 1 million euros. Some rich boys will pay for this toy. 999 units are not that many given this cars performance

The case against it - Electric car fans bought the roadster because it was the only long range electric. Many of these customers don't care about getting handling or acceleration any better than the 60 kwh tesla S. That car is much less expensive and more comfortable.

 

For 135 large - Tesla S 60 kwh+ Boxter S or
Detroit electric targa sp:01

For handling the boxter S and sp:01 are likely tied, but the sp:01 is 0-62 in 3.7 versus 0-60 in 4.2. To me the normal 911 is plenty quick at 4.3 seconds to 60. Tesla S 5.6 seconds to 60.

sp:01 super car acceleration, great handling, unique

Combo - better convertable, better commuter car, More electric range(208 versus maybe 150 epa), better engine note (boxter), can carry back seat passengers more comfortably.

The big question is do you love the looks enough of the sp:01, if its a rich boyz toy, or does the boxter look maybe even a little better, and the tesla satisfies your electric driving.

2013 Porsche Boxster S First Test - Motor Trend