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Supercar Makers Put Brakes On EV’s

Sure, a Tesla Model S sedan can go from zero to 60 miles an hour in 2.3 seconds, at least as quick as a supercar from Lamborghini or Ferrari. But both of those Italian automakers say electric car technology isn’t ready for real high-performance supercars just yet.
That’s because supercar performance means more than launching from a stoplight as fast as possible. It means rounding curves at high speeds and accelerating, not just from a dead stop but at high speeds, over and over again.
Electric cars need big battery packs to store enough power for acceleration and long driving range. Those battery packs usually weigh even more than a gasoline-powered car’s engine and transmission. Makers of electric cars will often boast that the battery weight is down in the floor, providing for a lower center of gravity and, theoretically, better handling. But the simple fact is, more weight is just never good for a sports car.
Then there’s the sound. Or, rather, the lack of sound. Ferrari and Lamborghini take pains to provide drivers with a rich symphony of rapid-fire internal combustion. The gentle whirring of electric motors can be cool in its own right, but it’s far from the ripping metallic howl of a Ferrari V12. Fake engine noise could be pumped into the cabin — some automakers already do this, even in gasoline-powered cars — but Ferrari’s chief technology officer, Michael Hugo Leiters, called the idea unthinkable for his brand.
“We have to have a certain credibility,” he said at a press conference during the Geneva Motor Show.
Ferrari has said it plans to offer a new hybrid supercar in the near future, but that an all-electric Ferrari remains farther off.
Maurizio Reggiani, chief technical officer at Lamborghini, detailed the packaging challenges of big battery packs during a conversation behind the scenes at the Geneva Show. Yes, batteries can be laid down flat in the floor of the car, as they are in Teslas. But if you’ve ever sat in a Lamborghini sports car you’ll know there’s not much room between your seat and the road. Adding space for batteries would mean making the cars taller sacrificing much of that “low center of gravity” benefit.
Rimac, based in Croatia, makes electric supercars today albeit at extremely high prices, even by supercar standards. The Rimac C_Two costs over $2 million. The company also contributed engineering to the Pininfarina Battista, another $2 million electric supercar unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier in March.
Founder Mate Rimac said he didn’t start an electric supercar company because he wanted to save the environment. There are far betters ways to do that. He believes that electric propulsion, with its instant acceleration and precise control of power to the wheels, holds the promise of ultimate supercar performance.