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This is the P1-E, a new British electric sports car created by former McLaren designer Jim Dowle.

The two-seat P1-E is a development of a petrol-powered model first revealed at the beginning of last year.

It’s inspired by the Lancia Stratos and Lotus Exige, but gets Mercedes SLR-style doors.

This new electric version of the P1 is powered by lithium-ion batteries, will reach 60mph in a claimed 2.9sec and will have a limited top speed of 130mph. The body will be made of lightw...Read the full article

Autocar:

“Tesla is a good benchmark, but the technology is moving fast. Our car will be more advanced than the Tesla,” said Dowle.

JJAD plans to build around 500 models of the £55k P1-E per year when it goes into production in 2012.

£55K for 'more advanced', compared to double that for Tesla. Someone just shot a hole through Tesla's business plan. Still want to bet on Tesla seeing 2010?(see Steve Cropley's last blog)

So despite having batteries and four-wheel drive, it's going to weight 1055 kg? Yeah, right ...

 "P1-E in the sky" more like...........

I like the possibility and the potential. However (there's always a but), can we give this proposal any more weight than either: Connaught Motor Company, who have been developing a hybrid principle for sometime that would have been interesting at the time of announcement but would now struggle to compete with a good diesel. Lightning Car Company, pure electric technology. Not been in proposal as long as Connaught but still goine rather quiet. The really bigger BUT though is where is all the electricity going to come from particularly in the UK if a drive towards EVs is pursued. With the strategy so far we maybe struggling to keep the lights on in a few years as assorted power stations reach end of life, so where's the extra supply for a possible wave of EVs.

Coming out with weight and performance claims for a car not due for another 3 years is definitely on the brave side, especially when companies that appear ahead of you in the development stakes like Fisker and Lightning are very reluctant to publish vehicle weights - I don't believe either of those 2 companies listed the weight on their press releases or specification sheets.

 I'm sure that this wave of interest is going to be the thing that sparks the mass development of the electric vehicle, and these small companies will help bring the costs down for the mainstream manufacturers, and the successful ones will get bought up for a large amount of money.

Where the business plans fail is that if it's technology that is bought in from an external supplier, its the supplier that will see its share price go through the roof, not the small car company, who may struggle once bigger fish get involved, unless there are solus supply and trademark rights.

Horseandcart - you may be right in terms of price that Tesla may not last that long, and that being first to market is rarely the recipe for success, it is usually those following closely behind who see an opportunity to do it better and cheaper, Google wasn't first to market, but knew what would work...

At the same time development costs are always picked up by early adopters of new technology - those who want to be seen as having the 'First One' etc, see the cost of DVD or Blu Ray players as an example - early players cost £1000 and are soon outperformed by £100 models within a year or two. Tesla is to be commended for advancing the technology though, and just because its business plan may not be too successful in the current climate is no reason to pre judge. Not may other car manufacturers business plans are going too well at the moment, even Toyota and Porsche are losing money - so not entirely Teslas fault as I'm sure the plan was written several years ago before worldwide recession was upon us, probably around 2005 as the prodct will have taken several years in development to get to this stage.

If they are lucky, Tesla will find the funds to continue, and once prices come down significantly (happening already) and development costs paid off by early adopters, then a reliable £40k Tesla would make a lot of sense, even more so with the £20-30k saloon that is to be the main benefactor of this technology, (and the main profit centre.) The current car is an expensive testbed that is kindly being paid for by rich eco aware celebrities, which is a great way of getting rich movie stars to indirectly pay for electric cars for the masses and making them feel good about it while they do so.

Orangewheels:

even Toyota and Porsche are losing money

- where did you see it reported Porsche losing money? Their sales are off, but the billions donated by clown speculators on the VW shareprice debacle and the €6bn odd operating profit of VW group surely sees Porsche SE/Holding, or whatever they call the whole shebang now, handsomely in the black.

Orangewheels:

Horseandcart - you may be right in terms of price that Tesla may not last that long, and that being first to market is rarely the recipe for success, it is usually those following closely behind who see an opportunity to do it better and cheaper, Google wasn't first to market, but knew what would work...

 

Don't take what I say about Tesla too earnestly - who can pronounce on anything with Solomon like certainty in today's times after all. I do think Tesla is for the high-jump though and likely out of business in 12 months time. It's not just the whole cost thing and the long-promised but never attained step-change breakthrough in battery technology, it's the parameters of the debate are unreal. It's always taken for granted that CO2 emission has to be reduced and therefore anything(however costly) offering zero emission is feted: electric cars, windmills and solar panels come foremost to mind - all hideously expensive. Once the majority of people see that the debate has been framed for them and that they are trapped inside an unreal bubble of pseudo-science allied with powerful monetary interests, the whole electric car, alternative energy edifice will collapse. The only determinant then will be cost, true cost, not some ludicrous 50-100 year ahead '80% of the world's population will die from drowning in raised sea levels and desertification' apocalyptic costing. Here's another prediction to stir things up within ten years UK will be reopening deep mine pits - if they can be salvaged, or sinking new shafts. With oil running out and UK becoming a net importer of natural gas dire economic straits will force British people back onto their greatest energy resource and by then all talk of carbon sequestration and other cripplingly expensive pipedreams will be cast off in return for the urgent need to keep the lights on and heat homes. 

horseandcart:

It's always taken for granted that CO2 emission has to be reduced and therefore anything(however costly) offering zero emission is feted: electric cars, windmills and solar panels come foremost to mind - all hideously expensive. Once the majority of people see that the debate has been framed for them and that they are trapped inside an unreal bubble of pseudo-science allied with powerful monetary interests, the whole electric car, alternative energy edifice will collapse.

I think the electric car differs slightly to the solar panel, windmill etc. in that it is a means to an end - the transportation of the buyer, rather than simply a generation tool that can't cover its own production costs in CO2 or energy generation terms. We are always going to need some form of personal transport, and that will always expend energy in moving around.

What the electric car does is simply remove the personal responsibility for the generation of the waste CO2 (a lousy measure if you ask me) and place it onto the government / private generation company. In effect the consumer says "I've done my bit" and the rest is someone else's fault.

Consumers care little for the CO2 generated in the production of the item as we have seen with the Prius, and mainly perceive only the fuel consumption as their responsibility, and if there is no physical evidence of wrong doing - no nasty smoke coming out of the back, then it is nothing to do with them. They don't care how much CO2 was expended in the production of their Nike trainers, their house or their M&S chicken balti - it is deemed a corporate responsibility. There will be some moaning to keep corporate CO2 down, which will be traded off in the Carbon credits scam, and some environmental moaning when new nuclear stations are built, but customers will only really care when they see the electricity bill, as demonstrated when the petrol prices went through the roof - that is the only true cost in a consumers eyes.

(and maybe the £10k for the new battery pack after 5 years might upset them a bit too...)

Why are there so many entrepreneurs who believe that a low volume sports car is a good business proposition? Haven't they seen enough go to the wall to realise that its a mugs game? Or are their egos so huge that they truly believe that they can break the mould? Even Noble, with great designs, fantastic reviews and loyal customers has found it tough (perhaps an understatement...). Anyway, good luck fella. You might be THE ONE.

Actually, I may be being a bit sceptical. So perhaps this is a good time to launch my new project. It's inspired by the Ferrari Sharknose. It will have a carbon composite chassis, and a 1000bhp electric motor, powered by flexible lithium polymer batteries moulded into the body. It will weigh 350kg, 0-60 will take 1.7 seconds, top speed will be 175mph, and it will have a range of 350 miles. I've even done a sketch of it, and have a budget on Excel. I expect to launch it later this year. Sorry, have to go now, my nurse is at the door.

catcinq:

The really bigger BUT though is where is all the electricity going to come from particularly in the UK if a drive towards EVs is pursued.

 

Year 2050

I have an idea, it might be a bit retro and radical, but in terms of efficiency I think it will be a winner - Take the gas and oil left in the North sea to a refinery, refine it,  they take it to a local depot where you can take your multi-occupancy transport unit and top it up, it will then convert the stored energy in the fuel in the local power plant (under the bonnet) directly to movement therefore reducing losses that are incurred by conversion and storage, as a by product you get heat to keep you warm, electricity to power lighting, entertainment etc. The efficiency is increased as you are not taking the gas/oil to a power station burning it (incurring losses), transforming it to a higher voltage (incurring losses), transforming it to a lower voltage (losses), converting from AC to DC charging batteries (losses), converting from DC to AC (losses) when you move the car (dam, multi-occupancy transport unit - must stop using these outdated words). It would also be cheaper as you would cut out the middlemen (- Foreign owned Electricity generating and distribution companies). You would also remove the need to produce / dispose of those nasty chemicals used to make batteries.

Benefits all round then. 

The government will be happy as it is Green because it is an efficient energy use, its carbon neutral (although delayed by a few billion years, wont tell them that, they will never clock it) and can be made renewable.

Maybe I should approach the government with the idea, funding shouldnt be a problem as it ticks all the boxes. There are plenty of sites arround to set it up, Halewood, Solihull, Castle Bromwich, Luton, Ellesmere Port, Swindon, Derby, Tyne and Wear etc. With the proposed re-development in these areas, they will be chucking money at me by the Truck load.

Must go, my flight to Mars leaves in 183 Mins, whatever happend to my 1972 Triumph Spitfire, ho hum another long wait at the space port nearly over, my wifes making us go because someone told her that the particular alignment of the two moons on the 14th February 2050 will ensure conception, not sure why she wants another child at 85!

horseandcart:

Once the majority of people see that the debate has been framed for them and that they are trapped inside an unreal bubble of pseudo-science allied with powerful monetary interests, the whole electric car, alternative energy edifice will collapse.

 

Read: “The car will never replace the horse.”

A not unexpected viewpoint in light of your chosen moniker.