Ariel, a small British carmaker responsible for the iconic Atom and Nomad, revealed its newest car Thursday, simply called the Hipercar. A big departure from the exoskeleton-like vehicles normally associated with the brand, the Hipercar is an all-electric sports car with a real(-ish) interior and body panels. Even crazier than the absurd bodywork is the option for a turbine range extender.
Hipercar isn't just a clever name. It stands for High Performance Carbon Reduction. The chassis and subframes are aluminum, while the frankly ridiculous body structure-which is expected to go into production unchanged-is made from carbon fiber.
Power comes from a Cosworth-supplied 62.0-kWh battery pack that runs on an 800-volt architecture. Buyers can opt for rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with a 290-hp Equipmake APM electric motor at each wheel. Total output for the all-wheel-drive variant is 1163 horsepower and 1327 pound-feet of torque, while the rear-drive version gets 581 hp and 664 pound-feet.
The most fascinating part of the Hipercar isn't its weird body, it's the optional range extender. Instead of opting for a conventional piston engine or even a rotary like Mazda, Ariel decided to use Cosworth's CatGen turbine engine as a range extender. It makes about 47 hp and turns on to charge the batteries while on the move.
The Hipercar you see here is Ariel's first production-intent prototype. The company hasn't said how much the car will cost or when deliveries will begin, though we're expecting to learn more later in the year.