There was a time when the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche dominated all performance metrics. They were among the elite brands that could see off all comers in any measure of speed or acceleration.
However, the onset of electrification has levelled the playing field in some respects, as the fastest accelerating cars available today are the relatively unexotic Lucid Air Sapphire and Tesla Model S Plaid.
These battery blasters can destroy anything Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche builds in terms of 0-100kph sprints or quarter-mile drag races.
The Model S Plaid dispatches the 0-100kph split in 2.1 seconds and hits 322kph flat out, while the Lucid Air Sapphire is even faster, scorching to 100kph in 1.95 seconds and maxing out at 330kph.
They’re so rapid that even Bugatti’s all-conquering Chiron (priced from $3 million) can’t match the off-the-mark acceleration of these two electrified upstarts.
The dramatic shift in balance of power hasn’t been lost on the senior management of ultra-premium brands in Italy, Germany and the UK, but the message they convey is that they’re not focusing merely on straight-line performance. It’s more a case of maximising emotional appeal, delivering class-leading cornering and braking capabilities, as well as making the driver feel intimately connected with the car.
'We don’t want to make cars without character'
Lamborghini will roll out its first battery-electric vehicle, the Lanzador, in 2028, but the Raging Bull’s chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, isn’t too concerned about outdoing Tesla and Lucid in a drag race.
“Every EV can accelerate fast,” Mohr was recently quoted as saying. “You don’t take your car out on a Sunday for a drive to go from 0-100kph in 1.9 seconds again and again. Maybe once or twice, but after that it’s boring.
“We don’t want to make cars without character, so we don’t actually want to build the perfect car, if a perfect car is one that does everything for you. This isn’t the PlayStation.
“Where we will focus is on the control of the car, how it reacts to inputs and more. I won’t talk about rivals by name, but I don’t think there’s an EV on the market today that does this well. All this talk about 0-100kph times is meaningless. Really meaningless. We want so much more from our cars at Lamborghini.”
Ferrari is also on the verge of major shift to electrification, in line with ever-tightening CO2 emission standards around the world. It will launch its first EV next year, and the company says the car will offer the highest power density of any battery-electric vehicle.
“Electrification is a must as we need to reduce emissions, but we can also use this to further enhance performance,” says Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna. “Contrary to the general notion, electric motors are not silent; each has its own signature.
“The [Ferrari] motor will speak the language of the car. We will develop our own core components, so the first full-electric Ferrari will still be a Ferrari, leveraging the extensive know-how of our Formula One team,” Vigna adds.
“The first full-electric Ferrari will combine class-leading longitudinal acceleration with driving thrills,” says chief research and development officer Ernesto Lasalandra. He also promises “much more emotion” than any existing EV offering.
“As for autonomous driving, it’s clear for us that we will stop at L2 and L2+ level. We will not go L4 or L5,” Lasalandra adds. “We will have Ferraris with a lot of new technology, but it will be used always to enhance the driving experience. We always want to put humans at the centre of the experience.”
'It’s about a premium driving experience'
BMW is similarly working on an electrified strategy for its future performance-focused M cars – The National recently sampled the ballistic i7 M70 electrified limo and came away impressed.
The next-gen M3 will also be battery-powered, says BMW development boss Frank Weber, and one of its key ingredients is a new Heart of Joy control unit that allegedly ensures there’s no loss of character in the absence of a sonorous petrol engine.
“This is a controller that has taken the last 20 or 30 years of our experience into a control unit. Everything that is driving-performance related, chassis-control related, propulsion power train related is now in one integrated control unit,” says Weber.
“We do it ourselves – we don’t buy it. The software is proprietary. This is why we talk about it. We say, see, this will enable driving-dynamics functions that you will love. Some of you have an interest in ‘the ultimate driving machine’ – you will see functions in [the Heart of Joy] that are crazy.”
'It is our duty is to tap into our vast engineering expertise'
Audi’s chief marketing officer, Henrik Wenders, says the shift to electrification provides new opportunities for performance-focused models. “Apart from the terrific acceleration, it’s also about a premium driving experience whereby there’s a real feeling of precision, and every detail being superbly executed.”
“So, at Audi, our duty is to tap into our vast engineering expertise to deliver all these attributes in our electric vehicles,” Wenders adds.
If you’ve ever sat in a fast modern-day EV – such as a Porsche Taycan Turbo S or Audi RS e-tron GT – and experienced the violence of a full launch-control start (especially two or three times in a row), you’ll know first-hand that it borders on being physically uncomfortable. The accelerative capabilities of high-performance EVs are already beginning to challenge what the human body can bear without eliciting feelings of nausea.
There’s also the issue of safely deploying the extreme performance of high-powered EVs on public roads with other motorists in the vicinity. When a car is capable of going from standstill to 100kph in under 3 seconds, it demands a lot of the driver, especially if traction is overwhelmed on a wet road, or an obstacle suddenly appears in the car’s path.
We’re reaching a point where simply extracting more power and acceleration from a car is no longer necessary or prudent. The consensus among the premium performance brands is that it’s more important to engineer a package that matches straight-line speed with agility, tactility and sensual appeal. This is where the current supercar elite – Ferrari, Lamborghini et al – aspire to remain a cut above the EV horde.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THREE
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
Royal wedding inspired menu
Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
Avocado ranch dip with crudites
Cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini club sandwiches
Elderflower and lemon syllabub meringue
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
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