Image Credit: Captain Electro.
I have a giant, lithium-stuffed bone to pick with the electric car industry. It's a big, heavy, lithium-stuffed bone. How many times have we been promised a decent sporty roadster?? I remember stories of rocket thrusters and hovering abilities told by a certain bloke who owns a social media platform and names his kids after WiFi passwords. But while the Tesla Roadster remains about as real as a polite conversation on Twitter, China has quietly gone and done the unthinkable. They've built a sports car. A proper one.
Meet the SC01. It's a wee beastie that looks like a Lotus had an illicit affair with a Lancia Stratos behind a pub in Glasgow. The rest of the world keeps itself busy building electric SUVs that weigh as much as a small cathedral and handle with the grace of a drunk elephant. This wee thing? It is heading to Europe to show us all how it's done. And the clever tariff-busting detail? The SC01 is going to be built in Italy. Yes - a Chinese electric car, built in the land of Ferrari and three-hour lunch breaks.
Image Credit: JMEV.
The modern electric performance cars have a serious problem - they are morbidly obese. You press the giggle pedal, and sure, your face peels off because of the instant torque. But the moment you show them a corner, physics taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that you're driving three tons of metal. The SC01 fixes that in the simplest possible way - it tips the scales at just a tad under 3,086 pounds. In the EV world, that is practically anorexic. That is at least 220 pounds lighter than a current Porsche 911. It's a featherweight in a division of heavyweights, and that warms the cockles of my cynical old heart.
Underneath the skin, this thing is backed by Xiaomi. The same company that makes my vacuum cleaner, my nephew's smartphone, and the 1,500-horsepower SU7 Ultra. The SC01 gets a dual-motor setup - one at the front, one at the back - delivering a combined 430 horsepower. In an age where family sedans have 1,000 horsepower, 430 might sound like a rounding error. But in a car this light? It's enough to make you see God.
Image Credit: JMEV.
Here is the party piece, though. The drivetrain is smarter than a fox with a physics degree. It's technically all-wheel drive - sensible so far. But, since the engineers clearly have a sense of humor, you can switch it to drive just the rear wheels for when you want to look like a hero, or - bafflingly - just the front wheels. I'm not entirely sure why you'd want a front-wheel-drive electric sports car unless you possess a deep, masochistic love for torque steer, but the option is there.
The performance figures are nothing to sneeze at, either. The SC01 will rocket from zero to 62 mph in a scant 2.9 seconds. That is properly fast. That is "swallow your tongue" fast. And because it's low to the ground and light, it should actually go around corners without ploughing into the nearest hedge. It's got old-school vibes, they say. Precise steering, they say. I'll believe it when I drive it, but on paper, it looks tastier than a box of fresh donuts.
Image Credit: JMEV.
Let's not forget about the "range anxiety" bit, because I know you're all sweating about it. The SC01 comes with a 60-kWh battery pack. It sounds small until you remember that lightness is king. Less weight to carry equals less energy used. The claimed range is around 310 miles, but that's on the Chinese CLTC cycle. I'm pretty sure that testing cycle involves rolling the car downhill with a tailwind. In the real world, you should expect quite a bit less, especially if you drive like your hair is on fire. Charging is decent too - 30% to 60% in 36 minutes. It's not earth-shattering, but it gives you enough time for a sandwich and to calm your nerves after conquering some scenic twisties.
The interior is described as "extremely basic." I think what they meant is "we forgot to put things in." But that's good. I don't need a 50-inch cinema screen in my dashboard distracting me while I'm trying to hit an apex. Just give me a steering wheel, a seat that holds my backside in place, and a pedal that makes the scenery blur. It's not a mobile lounge for watching Netflix - it's a driver's car.
Image Credit: JMEV.
The production story is a bit of a mystery novel. Developed by Tianjin Gongjiangpai Auto Technology (try saying that five times fast after a pint of Guinness) and built by JMEV, the European versions will be assembled in Italy. Production kicks off this year with a limited run. Only 1,000 units are reserved for "select" European markets. It's exclusive, which usually means "expensive," but in China, this thing costs around $32,000. Even if they double that for import taxes, shipping, and those long lunch breaks Italy is famous for, it's still a bargain compared to the vaporware Roadster.
So, where does that leave us? For those of you in the United States, I'm afraid it leaves you with absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. You can't have it. What you can have is the tad more expensive Longbow, which has tons more power, meaning it is less forgiving. Or you can go for the even more expensive Caterham, which apparently is on its way to the US. But for my European friends, the SC01 might be the most exciting electric car of the year. It's small, it's light, it's fast, and it's relatively affordable. It's the anti-Tesla. It's proof that an EV doesn't have to be a soulless appliance. It can be a bit mad, a bit rough around the edges, and genuinely fun. And that's all I've ever wanted.
Image Credit: JMEV.
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