Aspark Owl electric hypercar makes European debut
Salon Prive appearance precedes first deliveries later this year
The all-electric Aspark Owl hypercar has set two world records, showcasing its impressive performance on an airfield in the UK.
Set for customer deliveries later this year, the £2.5 million Owl achieved Guinness World Records for the highest average speed over the quarter mile and the eighth of a mile.
It completed an eighth of a mile with an average speed of 192.03mph (309.02kph), while storming through the quarter mile at an average of 198.12mph (318.85kph). That makes it one of the fastest EVs ever built, alongside the Rimac Nevera.
However, the Rimac is still the world's fastest electric production car over the quarter mile, with a time of 8.582sec. It's also the record holder for the highest top speed reached by an electric car, hitting a top speed of 258mph.
The Japanese hypercar set the record at a Straightliners event at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, confirmed by the UK Timing Association. It made its first public European appearance at Salon Prive earlier this year, ahead of customer deliveries in the next few months.
It’s claimed by the firm to be the “fastest-accelerating car in the world”, with 1985bhp produced from four electric motors. That’s almost twice the power of a Formula 1 car. It also clocked a 0-60mph sprint of 1.72sec at the Misano World Circuit.
Just 50 examples are set to be produced, with deliveries due to begin this autumn. Aspark says the Owl, which made its public debut in Dubai last year, is actually able to go even faster, with a 0-60mph target of under 1.7sec. This makes it the fastest-accelerating road-legal production car in the world, slashing 0.6sec off the 0-60mph time of the Tesla Model S.
The Owl generates 1985bhp from four electric motors - almost twice the power of a Formula 1 car - coupled with a “unique” battery pack for a claimed range of up to 280 miles. The powertrain also generates around 1475lb ft of torque, with the motors rotating at up to 15,000rpm. Top speed is quoted as 249mph.
The Owl’s 64kWh lithium-ion battery is of a much smaller capacity than those in competing electric hypercars from the likes of Rivian and Lotus, with the aim of reducing weight. The car’s chassis is made from carbon fibre, as are most of its other components, contributing to a claimed dry weight of 1900kg.
The Owl was initially announced as a concept at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show. The production version will gain an automatically extending spoiler, digital cameras integrated into the wing mirrors and an interior redesign that moves controls and switches to the ceiling.
Aspark CEO Mansanori Yoshida told reporters: “It’s a great honour for Aspark to be the first to announce this achievement, reached in a record time. When we first announced this project, no one believed it could have been done. It is true that we do not have a long history, but we are now completing what is the first Japanese electric hypercar.”