Kyburz eRod: Silent sportster
Swiss company delivers EV 'Atom'What weighs 544kg, has four wheels, is rear-drive and loves to do burnouts? No, it's not a budget-priced Ariel Atom, it's the Kyburz eRod.
The small Swiss company with a passion for driving fun has unleashed the eRod, a fully-electric, simple, lightweight, fun-to-drive roadster.
Based around a tubular frame – not unlike the seminal Ariel Atom – the Kyburz eRod doesn't offer any flashy features such as massaging Nappa leather seats or gesture control. Or even a windscreen. But what it does have, according to its creators, is a tenacious attitude that delivers an engaging driver experience.
Seen in this video snapping off wanton burnouts and changing direction with ease, Kyburz offers three eRod versions, which start at about $48,000 ($US36,000) for the Basic model. There's also the Fun and Race models, the latter pegged at $144,000 ($US108,000).
The eRod Basic is fitted with a 10kWh battery that'll last around 60km. Its electric motor has a 44kW (60hp) output and the battery system takes about six hours to recharge.
The mid-spec eRod Fun has a 17.3kWh battery for a 100km range and takes 10 hours to recharge the batteries but retains same the same electric engine (and output) from the Basic model. Both have a maximum speed of 120km/h.
At the top of the tree is the eRod Race, which has a hefty 39kWh battery and can reportedly travel 220km between charges (which take four hours). Top speed is 130km/h thanks to a more than 100kW power bump to 147.
We'll take a wild guess and say the cars in the video are the eRod Race model!
They're not cheap but the new eRods represent a glimpse into what the future of sports (and niche) car driving could be like. Think TomCar in Australia with its new ATV EV.
With the advent of EV powertrains, the potential for smaller start-up companies to enter the new car marketplace will potentially increase.
Oh, and if you want to save a few bills on the eRod, you can slice $13,000 from the asking price by ordering the vehicle unassembled.
Did you hear that Ikea?
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