Weary of the news of the launch of another many-thousand-horsepower electric hypercar yet?
What’s interesting is that very few are being made by established brands. I hope that’s because they better grasp the contradictions.
I get the arguments for why they should exist: halo cars have never been developed just for the benefits of customers but rather for the knock-on effect they can have, be it adding some sparkle to more mundane models or establishing a brand’s credentials. For start-ups seeking to use electrification to get a foothold in the mainstream, it’s an opportunity too good to be missed. But in the modern world, these cars have never made less sense.
Why so? Because it’s widely acknowledged that the energy required to create a battery pack is by some margin greater than that required to create a combustion engine. So it is that EVs arrive in an owner’s hands at an environmental deficit that’s overcome only with miles driven – by the most generous estimates around 15,000 miles, by the least generous 70,000 miles.
A quick browse of Auto Trader reveals the likelihood of such cars ever repaying that debt. There are five Bugatti Veyrons for sale, registered between 2006 and 2013, four of which have done less than 5000 miles, the leggiest of which has managed 19,540 miles in 16 years (by which point, were it battery-powered, you would probably be looking at replacing the pack). The sole LaFerrari for sale has done 6198 miles in nine years. The baggiest of five McLaren Sennas has done 2100 miles in three years. I could go on.
Of course, these arguments could have been made for the entire age of the car, the direct environmental impact of which has always been a negative, and especially so in the creation of low-volume specials that exist as much to be admired as driven. But to deride the past for not fitting into the context of the future is foolishly revisionist.
Electric hypercars don’t have that luxury. They must be judged in the world in which they’re created and against the message they exist to promote. On those terms, most buyers would appear to be investing in a sham demonstration of their eco credentials – or, perhaps more likely, simply ignorant of the damage they’re doing.
The saddest part is that there seems to be a dearth of truly innovative thought going on beyond a focus on these cars’ immense straight-line acceleration. If such cars do so few miles, why do they need such large battery packs? Couldn’t electrification be used to reinvent the hypercar by creating something that is not only designed to be driven but that is also within the capabilities of mere mortals to drive fast?
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Good points, but compounding it further is the current state of battery technology. Current BEVs are simply too heavy. The compromise between range, power, weight and cost are just about okay at present for prestige SUVs but wrong for mass market cars and also supercars which might have huge power and acceleration but can't defeat the laws of physics on a bend. Lighter more energy dense batteries will come, along with a charging network to fully support the use of lower (say 200ml) range but we aren't there yet.
What is worse in the UK though is that the road network does not support the use of such wide cars. Current width of supercars is no doubt dictated by the need to pack a huge engine between huge tyres and still provide some side impact safety. This means they are almost impossible to truly enjoy in non urban, non motorway areas because of the risks in meeting something similar coming the other way. The classic image of the open top MG down such roads holds fond memories for a reason, even if the reality of the cars themselves is so flawed.
Surely, true enjoyment will be when we can have BEVs which are narrow, light and powerful on such roads. Luxury could then be in beautiful design, exclusive interiors and rarity of availablity.