UK-based Longbow launches first ‘featherweight’ electric sportscars

British startup Longbow has formally unveiled its first two fashions, the Speedster and Roadster, creating what it calls the world’s first Featherweight Electrical Car (FEV) class. Each autos weigh beneath 995kg, providing a contemporary interpretation of traditional British light-weight sportscars.The open-topped Speedster weighs simply 895kg and accelerates from 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds with a 275-mile vary (WLTP), whereas the closed-cockpit Roadster follows at 995kg, reaching 62mph in 3.6 seconds. Manufacturing will likely be restricted for each fashions, with particular Luminary and Autograph editions accessible.Longbow was based by automotive business veterans Daniel Davey and Mark Tapscott, who beforehand labored with Tesla, Lucid Motors, and BYD, alongside Jenny Keisu, former CEO of electrical marine firm X Shore. The trio brings expertise from automotive, expertise, and finance sectors.The autos use a bespoke aluminium chassis designed for minimal weight and most stiffness. In keeping with the corporate, their light-weight development permits for lighter motors and batteries whereas sustaining efficiency. Each fashions will likely be designed, engineered, and hand-built within the UK, leveraging the nation’s high-performance engineering experience.“There are only some locations on the planet the place you possibly can hand construct a sportscar,” says Tapscott. “Right here within the UK, British engineering and automotive craftsmanship have a protracted historical past of creating light-weight sportscars with nice business and aggressive success. Longbow is the following chapter in that story, harnessing those self same concepts to create the best drivers’ automobiles of the trendy period.”The corporate’s motto Celeritas Levitas – the pace of lightness – displays its give attention to combining light-weight development with electrical efficiency.“Amidst the e-mobility revolution, now we have misplaced one thing vital,” mentioned Davey. “Many trendy ‘sportscars’ tip the scales at 1,500kg and BEVs can attain nearly double that. There’s a want for a extra driver-oriented, featherweight, electrical sportscar – one that’s attainable and accessible, for many who love driving and the locations it takes them. Our first two automobiles, Speedster and Roadster embody all the things a contemporary driver’s automotive must be: agile, balanced, electrical, and exhilarating. We’re reviving an icon, the light-weight British sportscar.”