The ecological car will never arouse enthusiasm, they say. Don’t believe it! The automotive industry intends to demonstrate that the pleasure of driving an electric vehicle is not limited to beating range or acceleration records. The sensations are different (no gearbox, no revving, no noise), but not the pleasure. First, many electric vehicles are designed around a rear-wheel-drive architecture, a drive mode favored by purists due in particular to its increased balance in turns and its weight distribution. This is even more efficient with an electric vehicle since the battery is spread over the entire platform. Even better, this configuration lowers the center of gravity for better stability and better contained body movements in turns.
Heavy batteries
PHOTO PROVIDED BY KIA
Kia offers a GT version of the EV6 that produces 585 horsepower.
The characteristics of an electric vehicle therefore lend themselves well to creating a sports car. Given the ability of the electric motor to produce constant torque, this kind of performance is, frankly, not the hardest thing to achieve. But some obstacles remain. Starting with the battery weight. This has a negative influence on behavior.
Until a lighter battery is on the market, manufacturers must channel this brute force by means of often more sophisticated ground connections. Air suspension, four-wheel steering, the artifices are not lacking.
Along with Tesla’s Plaid versions, Porsche (Taycan), Audi (RS e-tron GT) and Mercedes (EQS AMG GT) have also powered up their models. More recently, at less elite prices, Kia is offering a GT version of the EV6. The latter produces 585 horsepower. And the escalation continues. Hyundai is preparing to retaliate very soon with an N version of the Ioniq 5. This promises as much if not more power as well as a new function called “N e-shift”, which will reproduce the vibrations and the feeling associated with a gearbox.
Electrified but not electric
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MCLAREN
The McLaren Artura is a sports plug-in hybrid.
Other electrified sports will also follow. Moreover, at the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show, visitors will get a taste of the Corvette E-ray. For the first time in its history, the Chevrolet sports car lifts its hood to a hybrid engine. Its centrally mounted 6.2L thermal engine receives the contribution of an additional power unit at the front (yes, the Corvette thus becomes an integral). It is powered by a 1.1 kWh lithium-ion battery which allows it – only – to travel 8 km in electric mode, according to its designers. Also at the Salon, the McLaren Artura, a sports hybrid, but rechargeable this time, did a little better (18 km) due, of course, to a more powerful battery (7.4 kWh).
Even if they say they are not yet too affected by the rise of the green wave, the sports cars of tomorrow are nevertheless seeking to reduce their ecological footprint, but without compromising the driving sensations they provide. Strongly the advent of a lighter battery to find the dynamic agility associated with sports before.
