http://www.topspeed.com/cars/2015-renov ... 64954.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Austin Taylor wrote:The August 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has unveiled an exciting, all-new fully electric supercar. The Renovo Coupe concept began life discreetly in 2010, and has been kept under wraps until the engineering nicks and knacks were ironed out, and now the car has been green-lit for limited production. Renovo touts its new Coupe as "America’s First All-Electric Supercar," and it’s about as red, white, and blue as one could get.
EVs are all the hype these days, with Teslas as common here in Los Angeles as sunny, cloudless, 75 degree days. The fact that we now have a legitimate supercar , with blistering looks, performance — and a price — to match is very exciting news.
Details are still somewhat limited, but we have received basic information and are excited to report on this car’s capabilities based on what we know so far.
Exterior:
While the Renovo Coupe is the epitome of futuristic, next-generation technology, it looks rather old and classic — in a good way. This is because Shelby Shelby American provides the body, and this is basically a Shelby Daytona rolling on a modified, modernized CSX9000 chassis with the guts ripped out and replaced with electric motors.
There’s not much to say about this design that hasn’t already been said; it’s a sharp, vintage, all-American look that is still gorgeous today. The long hood gives the car a huge, sporty overhang, and also a stunning side profile. The large air scoop integrated into the hood remains, although it’s feeding air to an entirely different monster under the hood.
Curb weight is sports-car tidy, at a mere 3,250 pounds. The Renovo Coupe will be offered only in this stunning blue paint with the classic white racing stripe, which should make for plenty of stares and jaw drops.
The wheels are racy, HRE custom billet three-piece with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. The wheel size hasn’t been released, but to us they look like 19 or 20 inchers.
Out back, the classic Shelby styling remains, though the rear hatch is adorned with the Renovo logo. There are no exhaust outlets, obviously, as this is an all-electric vehicle.
Interior:
Not much information has been released in the interior department, but we do know it will retain the vintage look enjoyed by the classic Shelbys, with a flat instrument panel that will span the entire dashboard. The gauge display will be updated into a digital cluster, with classic analog gauges — featuring needles and all — in he center.
One feature that we do know about is that for the first time ever, the driver will have the ability to customize the regenerative braking on the fly — a first for a production EV vehicle — via a "muscular drive selector."
Drivetrain:
The Renovo Coupe is powered by twin sequential axial flux motors. The power ratings are stunning — over 500 horsepower and a cool 1,000 foot pounds of torque. EVs are known for instant response, and Renovo Renovo claims that full power is available in 37 milliseconds. To put that into perspective, 37 milliseconds is ten times faster than the blink of an eye. This should enable this monster to go from 0-to-ludicrous speed faster than Spaceball One. Renovo lists the official 0-to-60 time at a blazing 3.4 seconds, considerably faster than even the quickest EV, the Tesla Model S.
Unlike the Tesla, however, range is somewhat limited. Expect to only traverse 100 miles before a recharge is needed. Renovo addresses this by saying that to save weight it used smaller and lighter batteries. This is a track-oriented car, after all.
The short range is somewhat inconvenient, however the Coupe can be recharged completely in just 30 minutes with a Fast Charging System. Standard, wall outlet charging takes five hours. Not the greatest range, but it’s no worse than a Nissan Leaf’s.
Top speed is also a bit of a sore spot, as it is a rather un-supercar-like 120 mph.
