Weary of the news of the launch of another many-thousand-horsepower electric hypercar yet?
What’s interesting is that very few are being made by established brands. I hope that’s because they better grasp the contradictions.
Electric hypercars must be better judged against the image they seek to promote
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Good points, but compounding it further is the current state of battery technology. Current BEVs are simply too heavy. The compromise between range, power, weight and cost are just about okay at present for prestige SUVs but wrong for mass market cars and also supercars which might have huge power and acceleration but can't defeat the laws of physics on a bend. Lighter more energy dense batteries will come, along with a charging network to fully support the use of lower (say 200ml) range but we aren't there yet.
What is worse in the UK though is that the road network does not support the use of such wide cars. Current width of supercars is no doubt dictated by the need to pack a huge engine between huge tyres and still provide some side impact safety. This means they are almost impossible to truly enjoy in non urban, non motorway areas because of the risks in meeting something similar coming the other way. The classic image of the open top MG down such roads holds fond memories for a reason, even if the reality of the cars themselves is so flawed.
Surely, true enjoyment will be when we can have BEVs which are narrow, light and powerful on such roads. Luxury could then be in beautiful design, exclusive interiors and rarity of availablity.