One glance at the vehicle in the images below, and you might think it’s a classic Porsche 356 converted to electric vehicle status. You would be wrong. The car is not a Porsche at all and comes from a company based in the UK called Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC). WEVC says that it wants to redefine premium electric sports cars, and its first model is simply called the Coupe.
It can be ordered now in the UK starting £81,250, which would work out to nearly $113,000 here in the states. The first production version is called the Launch Edition, and only 21 units will be made. Deliveries are set to begin early next year. WEVC says the focus of the two-seat, rear-wheel-drive vehicle is to deliver a “carefully-honed ride” with an emphasis on handling and steering characteristics.
It uses custom suspension with double wishbones, 16-inch wheels with 60-profile tires, and has a curb weight of under 2205 pounds. The little electric vehicle also has a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Power comes from a mid-mounted electric motor producing 161 horsepower paired with a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery. The battery pack is large enough to deliver a driving range of about 230 miles on the WLTP test regime.
WEVC says the little Porsche doppelgänger can reach 62 mph in a little more than five seconds. While the body of the car was inspired by the 1955 Porsche 356a, panels were changed to improve aerodynamics. You can bet some of that change was to try and keep the Porsche legal team at bay.
The company integrates air-conditioning and smartphone connectivity. The vehicle’s official launch will happen late this summer, with production kicking off in the UK in November.