If you’re still waiting around for the next Tesla Roadster, consider this more retro electric sports car option.
Austrian engineering firm Kreisel Electric teamed up with Evex Fahrzeubgau, a company that makes replicas of the Porsche 910 sports racer. Debuting at the Techno-Classica car show in Essen Germany, the Kreisel Evex 910e looks like a classic Porsche on the outside, but features a modern electric powertrain.
Founded by the three Kreisel brothers, Kreisel Electric specializes in developing electric powertrains. Its work includes consulting with large automakers and building some impressive custom vehicles, including an electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now the company is turning its attention to something a little bit older.
The Porsche 910 was purpose-built race car that debuted in 1966. Cars of the type placed sixth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1967, and won the Nürburgring 1000 that year. Evex began producing replicas in the 1970s, but stopped after just four cars were made. It restarted production last year. Unlike the original 910, the modern replicas are street legal, in Germany at least.
While the original 910 had a 2.0-liter flat-six engine, the Kreisel Evex 910e sports an electric motor with 490 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Power is fed to the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission. Kreisel claims the car is seriously quick, boasting of 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds, and a top speed of over 186 mph.
The 53kWh lithium-ion battery pack provides a range of up to 217 miles, according to Kreisel. On top of that, the 910e is capable of bidirectional charging, so it can discharge electricity from its battery pack to act as an emergency power source for a house or other building. You won’t find that feature on any other sports car.
Then again, you’ll have a hard time finding the 910e. Kreisel says this reimagined Porsche will be the first of its creations that will be available for purchase, but the price tag is an insane 1 million euros (just over $1 million). The company also won’t discuss how many copies it plans to build.