The Dh11.7 million Aspark Owl supercar in pictures: EV does 0 to 100 in 1.9 seconds

The advent of electric vehicles has created an automotive ‘space race’, with another manufacturer claiming to have the fastest car in the world. Just eight weeks after Lotus claimed it had the world's most powerful production car after it unveiled the electric Evija in Abu Dhabi, which was barely six months after similar claims were made by Pininfarina about its Battista EV supercar, new automaker Aspark used yesterday’s Dubai International Motor Show for the global reveal of its Owl electric supercar, which it says trumps them all. While Lotus claims the 1971hp Evija will get to 100km/h in three seconds and on to a top speed of 321km/h and Pininfarina says its Battista takes “less than two seconds” to get to 100km/h and tops out at “more than 350km/h” from its 1900hp engine, the makers of the Aspark Owl, based in Osaka, Japan believes those figures are old news. At 2012bhp, the Aspark Owl has almost three times the power of a Formula E race car and twice as much as a modern Formula 1 car. The Japanese electric vehicle manufacturer claims it is the world’s quickest EV, with the ability to hit 100km/h in less than 1.9 seconds followed by an equally impressive zero to 300km/h time of 10.6 seconds and a 400km/h top speed. Thanks to a motor inside each wheel, the Owl also gets torque vectoring, so we’ve been assured that it can mix it on the bends and not just in a straight line. “We were the first company to present the concept of a full-electric hypercar back in 2017 and the first to present a fully production-ready version at the 2019 Dubai International Motor Show,” Aspark CEO, Masanori Yoshida said yesterday. “We will also be the first to deliver a full-electric hypercar to customers in the second quarter of next year,” he added. The Owl is limited to just 50 cars worldwide, with a retail price of €2.9 million (AED11,725,000), and Masanori claims the company already holds 15 deposits of €50,000 (AED202,000) each. With four Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) that produce 1480 kW and 2000Nm of torque, the company says that, collectively, it represents the most powerful automotive e-motor ever made and has a unique battery pack that gives it a range of 450km. It packs a 64-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, which is still small enough to make way for a larger battery in the future without having to alter the chassis design, and the battery can be charged within 80 minutes with a standard 44kW system. The centrally mounted battery pack has been specifically designed and developed for the Owl and is integrated into the chassis, allowing the car to have a height of just 99 cm, making it one of the lowest legal cars on the market. The chassis is a single piece carbon monocoque weighing just 120kg and features honeycomb construction for added strength and reduced weight, while the overall dry weight with battery is 1,900kg. All the panels are carbon fibre reinforced plastic, except for a stainless steel frame in the roof for roll-over support. The Owl rides on a double-wishbone suspension at each corner. Hydraulic dampers have three modes that can be manually set by the driver or left to be taken care of automatically to offer between 80mm and 160mm of ground clearance. Carbon-ceramic brake discs with 10-piston calipers in front and four-piston stoppers at the back help slow it all down. The Owl features an active rear wing, which can be manually set by the driver or it automatically rises from 150km/h to increase downforce before retracting again at 100km/h. The interior has a fighter aircraft cockpit feel to it, with roof-mounted ancillary switches along with two LCD screens and two operating rear-facing cameras that are built into the side mirror housings. A premium leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel and a large touchscreen panel at the centre console completes the luxurious look. Aspark was founded in October 2005 by Masanori Yoshida in Japan. The company has 25 offices spread across Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and Switzerland, with more than 3,300 employees. Production is planned to take place in Italy in collaboration with Manifattura Automobili Torino. “By accelerating the final stage of the Owl project in Italy and establishing a new legal subsidiary in Switzerland (Aspark Promotion AG) dedicated to the hypercar business, Aspark reinforces its international presence outside Japan”, Head of Sales and Communication Agshin Badalbayli said. “We are not only delivering premium level cars to our customers but we also take the full responsibility for after-sales, the right level of warranty and full product liability. Additionally, we are creating a global sales and after-sales network of Aspark branded cars in order to reach our customers as quickly as possible,” he added. - The 15th Dubai International Motor Show features more than 90 companies and more than 40 car launches. It is on until Saturday at the Dubai World Trade Centre from, 1pm to 9pm.

The Dh11.7 million Aspark Owl supercar in pictures: EV does 0 to 100 in 1.9 seconds

The Japanese electric vehicle manufacturer claims this is the world’s quickest EV, with twice the power of a Formula 1 car