Only 500 will be produced at a cost of almost $140,000 each.
Le Mans hopeful Vanwall has launched an electric hot hatch for the roads called the Vandervell, and at risk of stating the obvious, it looks like a re-bodied Hyundai Ioniq 5. Not that we're complaining – the Ioniq 5 swept the World Car of the Year awards and looked good doing it.
But back to the new hot hatch, named after Tony Vandervell, who founded the Vanwall F1 team that won the first-ever Formula 1 Constructors' Championship. The EV produces up to 572 horsepower and costs – wait for it – more than three base-model Ioniq 5s at a scandalous €128,000. That translates to around $138,800 at the time of writing.
So what do you get for all that cash, besides four ponies fewer than you get from a Kia EV6 GT? Among other things, you get exclusivity – just 500 will be produced.
Since the company is charging so much, it's only fair that it will apply any paint finish you want. That paint is splashed onto a lightweight body, although curb weight has not been announced, and garnished with carbon fiber elements in the forms of a splitter, side skirts, and a rear spoiler. The cabin has yet to be displayed but is said to feature exposed carbon fiber and leather.
Two versions of the car are available. The S comes with all-wheel drive and 315 hp, allowing it to reach 62 mph from rest in 4.9 seconds. The top speed is rated at 114 mph, and you get 279 miles of range on a charge.
The Plus is the one you want, with 572 hp and the ability to do 0-62 mph in 3.4 seconds. The top speed, too, is greater here, at 144 mph, but the range drops slightly to 260 miles. We can live with that.
Even though we have only been presented with renders at this point, the company says that deliveries will get underway in the third quarter of the year, and the finished product will offer “outstanding ergonomics” with “special attention” given to the driving position. As a company closely linked to motorsports, we expect no less.
Vanwall's racing team is backed by a firm called ByKolles Racing, which revealed its intentions for a World Endurance Championship entry last year. ByKolles may have been able to enter without the Vanwall name, but at the time, the powers that be decided the outfit needed to have ties to a roadgoing manufacturer. Hence the Vanwall tie-in.
However, last we heard, an ongoing dispute surrounding the use of the name still needs to be resolved. Hopefully, this won't impact the rollout of the hot hatch.
In case you missed it, a UK-based group claims to have exclusive rights to the name and showed its plans for a continuation of the 1958 Championship-winning Vanwall F1 car a couple of years before ByKolles revealed its intentions for the Vanwall name and a Le Mans hypercar campaign. Unless the two parties agree, both will likely battle in the courts rather than on the race track or the road for the foreseeable future.
As the marque credited with winning the first-ever Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship, the potential value of the Vanwall name is clear to see, and it's understandable why both entities want to keep hold of it.
Keyword: Vanwall Vandervell Electric Hot Hatch Costs More Than A Corvette Z06