I do not hate the idea of electric cars, and nor do I hate the idea of a new electric car company trying to sell an electric Miata knockoff. I just don’t want it to look like I bought it in the kids section of a Walmart.
And yet, formerly Italian, currently Canadian (hopeful) electric automaker Electra Meccanica announced it is now taking deposits on an all-electric Roadster named the Tofino. Unfortunately, the company only has one rendering to offer, and that rendering looks like a shitty ripoff of a Porsche designed to help well-off parents teach their 4-year-olds the art of road rage.
If we take the concept seriously for a moment, Electra Meccanica claims it will hit 60 mph in less than seven seconds with a top speed of 125 mph and a range of 250 miles from its electric powertrain. It will be priced at around $37,000 (US) and be introduced to the Canadian market. The first cars for deposit-holders will be delivered “by 2019,” according to the company.
Electra Meccanica is also the company developing the single-seater SOLO electric three-wheeler, which is supposed to start shipping in May (after being delayed). Electra’s parent company is Intermeccanica, which was once an Italian car brand founded in 1959 that sold sporty roadsters and coupes, as well as replica cars. It apparently currently sells a replica of the Porsche 356 which it just calls the ‘Roadster’, as well as a replica of the VW Kubelwagen.
That would explain why this new EV roadster concept looks so much like a Porsche in the face. Unfortunately it doesn’t look enough like something a grownup would drive at this stage. Hit me up when its doesn’t appear to have been designed in fifteen minutes using a Grand Theft Auto 2 mod.
Via Electrek