Although there were worthy contenders from Germany and the UK, there was a time when most supercars came from Italy and the 12-cylinder exotics from Maranello, Modena and Sant’Agata were centre-stage.
More recently, the so-called Holy Trinity – the McLaren P1, LaFerrari, and 918 Spyder – stole the limelight, and it was no coincidence that all three had petrol/electric powertrains – powertrains that surely could only be developed and put into production by well-established, well-funded manufacturers with masses of experience and expertise to call upon.
Despite the technical complexities and other significant challenges involved in producing such cars, there’s nonetheless a small army of lesser known firms, cottage industry makers and recent start-ups from more than a dozen different countries that are also boldly turning out monstrously powerful hybrid or fully electric hypercars.
So, time we thought for a country-by-country bullet-point round-up of the good, the mad and the obscure, along with cars from some more familiar marques that have long had their names engraved on Grand Prix and Le Mans winners trophies.
For what it’s worth, the combined horsepower of all 18 cars below is around 22,500hp, which equates to an average of about 1,250hp per car. And we used to think the 1,000hp Veyron was powerful! However, please note that many of the numbers quoted are either target, predicted or estimated figures, or as claimed/reported, and subject to possible change.
18 Unconventional Hypercars by Country
BULGARIA
Sin Cars R1 550 Hybrid
- Revealed at Geneva show 2018
- Designed/built in Bulgaria
- Plug-in hybrid. 7-litre V8 petrol (Corvette) engine plus electric motor, 570hp, 637Nm
- 0-62mph 3.0 secs, >186mph
- 37-mile electric-only range
- €220,000
CHINA
Techrules Ren RS
- Single-seat race/track-only version revealed at Geneva show 2018
- Designed by Guigiaro, developed by LM Gianetti of Turin
- Series hybrid; six electric motors with diesel turbine recharging motor. 1,305hp, 2,339Nm
- 0-62mph 3.0 secs, 205mph
- 727-mile range
- £1m+
NextEV Nio EP9
- Revealed late 2016.
- Designed and part-manufactured in the UK, assembled in China
- Four electric motors, 1,360hp, 1,481Nm
- 0-62mph 2.7 secs, 196mph
- 265-mile range
- £1.5m, (six built, all sold)
- Not sold in Europe. Track only
CROATIA
Rimac C_Two
- Revealed at Geneva show 2018
- Designed and built in Croatia
- Four electric motors, 1,914hp, 2,300Nm
- 0-62mph 1.85 secs, 258mph
- 402-mile range
- €1.8m (150 cars planned, all sold)
FINLAND
Toroidion 1MW
- Concept revealed at Top Marques show, Monaco 2015
- Designed and built in Finland
- Four electric motors, 1,341hp
- 0-62mph c.2.5 secs, 248mph
- 320-mile range
- £2.2m
GERMANY
Artega Scalo Superelletra
- Three-seater concept revealed at Geneva show 2017
- Styling by Carrozzeria Touring, built in Germany
- Four electric motors, 1,020hp, 1,620Nm
- 0-62mph 2.7 secs, 186mph (ltd)
- 310-mile range
- £1m. 50 cars to be built from Spring 2019
Mercedes-AMG One
- Show car revealed Frankfurt show 2017
- Plug-in hybrid. 1.6-litre petrol V6 (F1) engine with four electric motors
- 1,150hp
- 0-62mph <2.5 secs, >217mph
- 15-mile electric-only range
- €2.3m. 275 cars to be built, first deliveries 2019
ITALY
Pininfarina Battista
- H2 Speed concept revealed at Geneva show 2016, with hydrogen/fuel cell prototype following in 2017
- PF0 road version privately revealed at Pebble Beach 2018, with public reveal scheduled for Geneva 2019
- All-electric drivetrain
- 0-62mph <2.0 secs, 250mph max
- >300-mile range
- £1.7m, production from 2020, limited to 150 cars
JAPAN
Aspark Owl
- Show car revealed at 2017 Frankfurt Show
- Designed and built in Japan
- Two electric motors, 1,150hp, 1,528Nm
- 0-62mph <2.0 secs, 174mph
- 186-mile range
- $3.6m (inc. $1.15m non-refundable deposit). Production version scheduled for 2020, limited to 50 cars
SINGAPORE
Denrobium D-1
- Revealed at 2018 Geneva show
- Original design and funding by Vanda Electrics of Singapore. Initial development by William Advanced Engineering with further development by Dendrobium Automotive in UK
- All electric, 1,800hp, 2,000Nm
- 0-60mph 2.7 secs, 200mph
- Range TBA
- From c.€2.5m, <100 to be built
SLOVENIA
Tushek TS900 Apex
- Revealed at Top Marques, Monaco 2018
- Designed and developed by Team Tushek in Slovenia
- Petrol/electric hybrid. Supercharged (Audi) 4.2-litre V8
- 1,340hp, 1,600Nm. 0-62mph <2.5 secs, 236mph
- 31-mile electric-only range
- £1.1m
SWITZERLAND
Elextra
- Announced Feb 2018
- 4-door, 4-seater designed by Classic Factory in Switzerland, engineered and built in Germany
- Dual electric motors, c.670hp
- 0-62mph <2.3 secs, 155mph (ltd)
- 373-mile range
- €450,000, scheduled for launch in 2019
SPAIN
DSD Design Boreas Hybrid
- Revealed at Le Mans 24hr race 2017
- Designed and built by DSD Design & Motorsport in Spain
- Plug-in electric/petrol V8 drivetrain, >1,000hp
- 0-62mph 2.8 secs, 236mph
- 62-mile electric-only range
- £not known, 12 to be built, all sold (apparently)
SWEDEN
Koenigsegg Regera
- Unveiled at Geneva show 2015
- Designed, built and developed by Koenigsegg in Sweden
- Plug-in petrol/electric hybrid. Twin-turbo 5-litre V8 with three electric motors
- >1,500hp, >2,000Nm
- 0-62mph 2.7 secs, 255mph (ltd)
- £1.5m. 80 cars being built over five years, all sold
UNITED KINGDOM
Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro
- Unveiled at Geneva show 2018
- Track-only evolution of road-legal Valkyrie
- 5-litre V12 petrol/electric hybrid with energy recovery system
- >1,100hp
- 0-62mph <2.5 secs, 225mph
- £3m, 25 cars to be built from 2020, all sold
Aston Martin Project 003
- Announced Sept 2018
- Possibly to be named ‘Valhalla’
- Turbocharged V6 petrol/electric hybrid with energy recovery system
- 1,000hp
- 0-62mph <3 secs, >200mph
- £1.3m, 500 cars planned, due late 2021
McLaren Speedtail
- Announced Oct 2018
- Light-weight, low-drag, 3-seater ‘hyper-GT’
- 4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol/electric hybrid with induction charging
- 1,050hp
- 0-186mph 12.8 secs, 250mph
- From £1.75m + taxes. 106 cars to be built, all sold
USA
Tesla Roadster
- 2+2 targa-top unveiled Nov 2017
- Three electric motors
- 1,300hp, 10,000Nm (quoted), c.1,150Nm
- 0-60mph 1.9 secs, >250mph
- 620-mile range
- £189,000, production from 2020
With the least expensive of these incredible cars priced at around £200,000, owning any one of them might seem like an unattainable dream, but at JBR Capital we may well be able to swiftly build a bespoke finance package to suit. So to make your hypercar dream to come true please speak with one of our supercar finance experts today on 020 3355 0035 to explore your finance options.
