Call in the lawyers: Youxia Motors reveals its Tesla Model S rival
New Chinese car-maker’s cut-price all-electric Ranger X looks suspiciously like Model SYouxia Motors has revealed a powerful new all-electric sedan that has been created to rival a Tesla.
Unfortunately for the Chinese car-maker, some industry commentators have suggested that its exterior and interior design share too many similarities to the American firm’s Model S.
Called the Ranger X, the new big electric sedan isn’t an identical copy, but the treatment around the nose and some of its lines are enough to potentially confuse buyers.
Inside, the Youxia X also borrows from Tesla’s trademark large vertically-mounted tablet to control all the car’s functions.
That tablet is said to be inspired by Knight Rider’s KITT. Called KITT OS, the new car, has the ability to pipe into the cabin the soundtrack of a large range of performance cars from the Jaguar F-TYPE to the sound of Ferrari’s 488 GTB.
Perhaps even more impressive for fans of the '80s TV show is the Ranger X’s ability to mimic the KITT’s red-sweeping light thanks to LEDs embedded in the car’s front bumper bar.
Powered by electric motors totalling 270kW/441Nm, the X will be offered in three different versions when it goes on sale in China in 2017 -- a 40kWh battery powered model that covers 220km between charges, a 60kWh that does 330km and, finally, a 85kWh model that boasts a range of almost 460km.
Against the clock Youxia claim its sedan will hit 100km/h in 5.6 seconds.
Prices for the Youxia X will start at just $A40,000 when production starts later this year.
Tesla has confirmed it is aware of the Youxia Ranger X’s existence but has yet to make any comment.
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