Wheels Blog: A New Electric Car With an Old Name

Detroit Electric, via Associated Press Detroit Electric’s SP:01, a limited-edition electric sports car.

The fledgling Detroit Electric car company introduced its first product, the fully electric SP:01 two-seat roadster, on Wednesday. Like the Tesla Roadster, the SP:01 will be built on a Lotus Elise chassis. Detroit Electric will handle only final assembly of an initial production run of 999 vehicles.

The Detroit Electric name is familiar to automotive historians. The early 20th century electric-vehicle manufacturer produced about 13,000 cars in its nearly 30-year history. This new venture, which has its headquarters in Detroit’s Fisher Building, bought the brand name.

Detroit Electric is assembling SP:01 prototypes in Europe. The car’s top speed is 155 miles per hour and its time from zero to 62 m.p.h. is 3.7 seconds, the company said.

The SP:01 is powered by a 201 horsepower (150 kW) electric motor mounted behind the passenger cabin. The Lotus Elise donor car’s manual gearbox delivers the power to the rear wheels. In the Lotus, the manual gearbox has six forward speeds, but in the torque-rich electric car only four are used, with fifth and sixth gears blocked off. However, to achieve that 155 m.p.h. top speed, fifth gear must be reinstated. That fifth ratio can be added as an option at the time of purchase. A two-speed automatic will also be available. Steering and suspension components are similar to those of the Lotus, but have been modified to better suit the SP:01’s weight distribution.

Two lithium-polymer batteries provide electricity. According to a Detroit Electric media release, the SP:01 achieved a range of 180 miles on the European driving cycle. The company said a 7.7 kWh home charging unit could fully charge the car in about four hours.

The car’s body is carbon fiber, which sits on Lotus’s aluminum tub-style chassis. The company said the car weighed 2,400 pounds.

Detroit Electric said the SP:01 would go on sale in several markets in the United States by the end of August. Pricing will start at $135,000, but will vary depending on vehicle specifications and local taxes.