Silent Sicilian supercar revealed

Sicilian company Tecnicar is pushing ahead with a bold electric supercar project and although the vehicle is currently no more than a fibreglass shell, its creators have high hopes for the zero-emissions coupe.

Dubbed the Tecnicar Lavinia SE Concept, the rear-drive vehicle is being touted as a proper 300km/h supercar. According to www.autoblog.it, propulsion will be provided by an electric motor(s) that generates around 800hp or a whopping 588kW.

The Lavinia SE exoticar is claimed to accelerate to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, putting it in true exotic company if it does indeed live up to expectations.

Although the vehicle is not completely vapourware, with photos of the car's fibreglass tub published on Tecnicar's Facebook page, it remains to be seen if the company can put together a solid business case for the e-coupe.

Italy is certainly no stranger to high-end performance cars, with the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari dominating proceedings, and it will interesting to see if customers accept the idea of pure electric super car.

There are already several hybrid supercars available to well-heeled customers, including the Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1.

The German, Italian and British hypercars all make use of petrol engines in conjunction with electric motors, which is where the Tecnicar Lavinia comes into its own as a pure EV using only electric motors.

However, this could also prove to be its most limiting factor, particularly in terms of how far it can travel or how many laps of a racetrack it can complete.

Kerb weight is not given, but handling should be solid given the electric drive components appear to be mounted low in the middle of the vehicle.

Showing clear Formula One influences, the design of the ambitious supercar is suitably low and lean – a necessity when shooting for a 300km/h top speed.

Giuseppe Ferrazzano, the man who penned the design and who plans to market the car, reveals the inspiration behind the car in typical Latin fashion.

"Both the name and the design are the fruit of love for my wife, Lavinia," he said.