UK: Hyper car Dendrobium racing ahead
The British hyper car that had seen the spotlight last year in Geneva is gearing up for production. A new company called Dendrobium Automotive has been set up to follow on from Vanda Electrics. The Dendrobium is being developed with Williams Advanced Engineering.
The British engineers will stay on the case and want to present the D-1, that is the production version of the supercar, already in late August at the Salon Privé. Moreover, newly created Dendrobium Automotive announced they would produce the mini series in the UK, making this the first hyper car made in Britain. The D-1 is to start a line of many more electric cars to come, according to the company.
When presented in Geneva last year, the electric racer on display featured four electric motors making for 320 kph (200 mph) tops. This performance remains the main target, together with an acceleration of 0 – 100 kph in 2.7 seconds.
In addition, the production series will eventually utilise solid-state batteries and the company wants to develop all technology in the UK.
Still Dendrobium Automotive will remain under wings of the Singapore-based Vanda Electrics led by Nigel Gordon-Stewart, an executive who had worked for McLaren and Lamborghini, and also Lotus. Autocar quotes the CEO saying that “from a technical perspective, the D-1 will be a British engineering tour de force”.
When hitting the road in 2020, the electric racer targets a weight of 1,750 kilos, that is to be kept with a mixture of carbon fibre, advanced composites and alloys. Construction is centred on a carbon fibre tub.
Production is to kick off by 2019 but will be in the “in the tens, rather than the hundreds,” Autocar quotes Vanda Electrics boss Larissa Tan. The price tag though, will carry seven figures.
The two seat electric car derives its name Dendrobium from an orchid of the same name. So take “petals” as its dominant design clue naturally.
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