FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Thunder Power sends shockwaves
Little known Taiwanese EV manufacturer made a bold statement at this week's Frankfurt Motor ShowThunder Power, a small Taiwanese firm previously unknown outside its home country, has made a bold splash at this week's Frankfurt motor show, with two electric vehicle design studies making their debut.
Combining "European engineering excellence with Italian design," the two concept cars are the Thunder Power Sedan and the Thunder Power Race, the former promoted as a future rival to the Tesla Model S, and the Race pointing to the future of EV racing.
Guided by Chief Technical Officer Peter Tutzer, who helped engineer the Bugatti Veyron from a blank sheet of paper to the start of production, Thunder Power is making some big claims about its upcoming full-electric vehicles.
Thunder Power claims that the Sedan will "exceed the demands of the contemporary driver, offering both exhilarating performance and an enviable maximum journey distance."
In its press release Thunder Power says that the Sedan will be offered in both 230kW and 320kW power configurations, with the latter capable of making the dash from zero-100km/h in under five seconds on its way to a top speed of 250km/h.
While its performance claims are impressive, the Sedan is able to travel a class-leading 650km on a single charge, according to the manufacturer.
Italian design studio Zagato designed the Thunder Power Sedan, which places the EV in the same hallowed company as the recent Aston Martin V12 Zagato supercar, both cars penned by the design team responsible for some of the most eye-catching and beautiful sports cars and concepts ever made.
The front of the Sedan is a little Ferrari California T, with the shape of the front grille also reminiscent of designs from Maserati and Aston Martin.
Thunder Power states that its dedicated modular EV platform, designed and engineered in-house can underpin a range of vehicles "extended from Sedan to SUV, Compact and Crossover."
The Thunder Power range is set to launch in Europe in 2017 and China in 2018, followed soon after by the US.
Series production will take place at a 30 hectare site in Shaoxing, Zhijiang, China – the main facility. An announcement concerning the European production facility is yet to be made.
Full coverage from motoring.com.au at Frankfurt motor show here
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