Dyson Unveils ‘Would-Be’ Tesla Electric Car Competitor That Has Been Cancelled
Way back in October 2019, the electric car project of Sir James Dyson’s company was cancelled. This year, he finally revealed the appearance of what could have been a close competitor of Tesla in an up-close interview conducted by The Sunday Times.
The article published, which also compliments the famous entrepreneur and inventor’s first time to be part of The Sunday Times Rich List, provides an exclusive look to the working version of the development car created by Dyson, called N526. Will this be as energy efficient as the Volkswagen electric car?
The Design
When it comes to the design, the concept of Dyson’s electric car is a perfect mix of futuristic and sporty. It measures two meters wide, five meters long, and 1.7 meters high. The electric vehicle is comparable to luxurious SUVs such as Range Rover and Land Rover from Jaguar. In addition, the wheels are way bigger compared to those vehicles used on the road.
Sporty Aesthetics
Since the car focuses more on the sporty aesthetic, it comes with a windscreen that is specially made to be tilted. It is more steeply if you compared it to those that Ferrari has, according to the inventor himself. The interior of the car has a total of 7 slim and securely upholstered seats that comes with gorgeous rounded headrests, almost similar to the appearance of a lollipop.
Moreover, the electric car also has storage drawers that are somehow related to pull-out filing cabinets. The driver instrumentation is rendered exclusively in a heads-up display.
Dyson explained the EV of the company would’ve sported a more extended range compared to a lot of other electric cars. It can drive for as much as 600 miles or 965 kilometres on one charge. In contrast, the Tesla Model S only has 379 miles or 609 kilometres of range.
Amazing Specs
The range of Dyson’s electric car could run even on a cold and freezing weather, on the wicked part of 70mph on the highway, while still having the chance to enjoy the radio and heater at full blast. When it comes to horsepower, the car has twin electric motors that have the capacity to create 480lb ft and 536bhp of torque that would enable the vehicle to run from zero to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and provide a top speed of 201 mph or 125mph.
They stated that this range would’ve been possible “even on a freezing February night, on the naughty side of 70mph on the motorway, with the heater on and the radio at full blast”.
When talking about why the vehicle didn’t make it, Dyson explains that even if they tried their best during the whole development procedure, they simply couldn’t think of anyhow they can pass it commercially viable. He also added that the car was supposed to retail at £150,000 or about $180,000.
Even if the electric car was cancelled, Dyson will use everything he learned to create solid-state batteries that other car manufacturers could utilize.