- New U.K. upstart Longbow carries on tradition of British men in sheds hammering cars together
- The sub-1,000-kg EV should boast an estimated 320 horses from a single motor
- And, yes, the so-called Roadster really isn’t one—it’s named that way as a dig at Tesla
Mid-March saw the debut of a new marque, Longbow, and its two debut models, the Roadster and Speedster, designed and crafted by a quiver of gearheads based in England who wanted to volley an all-electric dart aimed straight at aficionados of the lightweight British roadster. Oh, yeah—and the firm is made up partly by some of the minds which once toiled at places like Lucid, Tesla, and Polestar.
Said to weigh just 895 kilograms (1,973 lbs) and scarper to 100 km/h from zero in just 3.5 seconds, the Longbow Speedster is a sharpened variant on the company’s Roadster, showing up sans roof and windshield. Its makers estimate a range of over 700 kilometres (likely using the optimistic WLTP calculations) and a base price of 85,000 British pounds (about CDN$158,000). Plans currently call for a single electric motor heaving out 320 horsepower, though talks of a dual-motor model are in the cards.
If you’d prefer not to have yer face flattened every time you go near the accelerator pedal, Longbow also has the aforementioned Roadster up its sleeve. That one – despite its official name – has a fixed roof, windshield, and real doors. Weighing a hundred kilos (220 lbs) more than the Speedster, its aero advantages should add a handful of clicks to overall driving range on a full charge, but in trade for a tenth or two of acceleration thanks to its extra weight.
Specifically, Longbow Motors is the creation of British engineers Mark Tapscott and Daniel Davy. As part of their sales pitch, they are keen to describe these machines as the cars Lotus’ current owners won’t let it build. Taking a leaf from other companies (both EV-makers and builders of gassers) they are cribbing the cars’ powertrain gear – motors, batteries, brakes, et al – from established outfits.
By the way: Tapscott and Davy freely admit applying the Roadster name to a machine which is nothing of the sort is a not-so-veiled swipe at Tesla and its own much-delayed Roadster reprise. They specifically point out how some folks have dropped a cool quarter-mil reservation, but yet have anything to show for their troubles. “Our Roadster’s going to be on the ground first,” they even told a local media outlet. Plans are afoot to make 150 of these models.
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