Wheels Blog: Epic EV Torq: Three Wheels + One Electric Motor = Interesting

Epic Electric Vehicles Epic Electric Vehicles said it expects to build 50 of the 2013 Torq E.V.

Morgan Motor Company’s 1930s-retro 3-Wheelers are cool. Of that there’s little doubt. They’re light, fast and guaranteed conversation starters. But what if you took that same Morgan, made it look all futuristic and replaced its noisy V-twin motorcycle engine with a silent, powerful electric motor?

You’d get Epic Electric Vehicles’ Torq Roadster, which resembles an escape pod from a ’90s space movie and has an electric motor, carbon-fiber body and, yes, only one rear wheel. Like the Morgan 3-Wheeler, the Torq EV is basically a sporty toy for people who have extra money lying around. But it is a mean-looking little buggy. If you’re the sort of car-loving playboy who is into 3-wheeled cars (come on, you know you’re out there) and prefers “Star Trek: The Next Generation” machines to ones like those featured in Lawrence of Arabia, the Torq could be what you’re looking for.

David Vespremi, a former Tesla Motors executive, became Epic’s first customer in an official-looking handoff ceremony last month. Judging by his blog post on the subject, Mr. Vespremi is pretty amped on having a Torq, and said the electric 3-wheeler is nearly as quick off the line as a Tesla Roadster. Mr. Vespremi commended not only the Torq’s quickness, but also its silence — the electric drivetrain means he can sneak out of the house at dawn for “spirited driving” without waking his entire family with the roar he’d subjected them to with his 400-horsepower Toyota MR2.

Epic Electric Vehicles said in a news release that it would produce about 50 Torqs for 2013. Prices start at $65,000 in the United States. If you want to play, be prepared to pay a $10,000 deposit. The company is also taking $5,000 deposits for a 2014 model.

I wish I could say more about the car, but since I’ve neither seen it in person nor driven it, I’ll leave you with a kernel of utter nonsense (which seems in keeping with chatter about a 3-wheel electric roadster that costs more than a couple of average family sedans): I have to wonder if driving one feels more carlike, or more like one of those speeder bikes the Ewoks ride in “Return of the Jedi.”

Geneva Motor Show: A High Dollar Debutante ball

While manufacturers such as Fiat, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have trouble in Europe with bloated inventories, declining sales and the red ink, many luxury brands are State of profits and record sales. As a result, an unprecedented number of ultraexpensive cars new is mixed among the creations of 130 or made Beaver in Geneva.

Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren will be unveiled the prices above $1 million vehicles. Limited edition of sport cars Lamborghini may set a record for vehicular excess; the car is common to carry a price tag more of 4 million $.

Not far behind in terms of stratospheric prices, will be new vehicles with six digits of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin and a wide range of manufacturers the shop, and design houses that make the Geneva show an annual Carnival of automotive excess.

Price, of course, is not necessarily proportional with the meaning. Here are some important, but not necessarily as expensive, beginner, who will make an appearance:

Alfa Romeo 4 c This sports coupe, which the company called "Compact supercar", will be built in a factory of Maserati and lavished with technologies derived from Ferrari. Later this year, the 4 c will lead Alfa back to the United States market after an absence of 20 years. According to the Geneva standards, the car is a bit a bargain, with a price in the mid - 5-digit range.

100Th anniversary of Aston Martin Vanquish To celebrate 100 years in business, Aston produced a limited series of 100 special editions of his Vanquish coupe, offering features previously available only in its $2 million and more hypercar of the One-77. Versions of the centenary are also planned for Vantage, DB9 and fast.

Bentley Flying Spur To differentiate themselves more away from the Continental GT coupe and move more upscale in price and presence, the Flying Spur sedan gets its own platform and treatment of style. Engineering advances will exit the pump of his W-12 up to 616 horsepower engine.

Chevrolet Corvette convertible Something of a surprise as a European debut – especially so shortly after the cut has been shown in Detroit in January - the Stingray convertible will make its first appearance in Geneva. The car appears at the New York auto show this month and reach showrooms in December.

Ferrari F150 Successor in limited edition Ferrari Enzo supercar, codename F150 (no relation to the Ford pickup), will be finally shown in Geneva after months of teasers. If you could buy one - and you can not, because as said Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat group, the car is already sold out, you would have about 1.3 million $. Production of the monster 900 horses should be limited to 499 cars, 100 more than the Enzo.

Hyundai ix35 fuel cell This car started to roll, the line, last Tuesday in Ulsan, South Korea. Hyundai said that in fact the first automaker to offer a vehicle manufactured by hydrogen fuel cell in series. The annual production of this variant of the crossover Tucson is not should reach 1,000 units until 2015.

McLaren P1 To not be forged by Ferrari in the pricing, exclusivity, or horses, McLaren displayed the production version of its P1 supercar with horses 903, a price of 1.15 million $ and a production run only 375.

Qoros 3 m A Chinese-Israeli Chery Automobile and the Israel Corporation, this nascent brand holding company hopes to begin selling cars in Europe this year. The compact sedan 3 Qoros will be shown at Geneva, as well as two concept cars, including a hybrid crossover.

Rolls-Royce Wraith A version two doors of the Ghost sedan with a sloping fastback roof, this new coupe expected to reach customers in the fourth quarter.