After months of silence, would-be electric sports car maker Detroit Electric has suddenly announced its SP:01 model is being prepared for launch “in several world markets”.
The car, based on the eighteen year old Lotus Elise, was first seen as a prototype at April 2013’s Shanghai motor show. Production (in Wayne County, Michigan) had been due to commence in August but the company stated in May 2013 that there would be a one month delay. Three months later, the company said there were further delays and would not commit to a production start date.
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The firm originally stated that 999 units of the SP:01 would be built but the latest media release has no mention of planned production volume. The car itself looks remarkably like the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster.
In 2013, Detroit Electric said the rear-wheel-drive SP:01 featured a compact, mid-mounted 201bhp electric motor (delivering 166 lb ft of torque), a lightweight, purpose-designed battery pack and carbon fibre bodywork. Total weight was claimed to be just 2,354 lb and the claimed range “almost 190 miles”.
The Wayne County facility which was once set to supposedly assemble the SP:01 was said to have an annual capacity of 2,500 vehicles.
In March 2014, there was still no official word on when the SP:01 would enter production but the company stated it was likely that all build would be in The Netherlands. The plan to make cars at a plant in Plymouth (Detroit) has reportedly been placed on hold.
Today (18 June), Detroit Electric has stated that it “is finalising dynamic testing of its SP:01 pure-electric sportscar at a facility in Europe ahead of its introduction in several world markets”, and that “further details of the car and Detroit Electric’s production and sales plans will be announced in the coming weeks”.
