{"id":90115,"date":"2024-05-31T17:23:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T07:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.signatureluxurytravel.com.au\/?p=90115"},"modified":"2024-05-31T17:39:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T07:39:18","slug":"electric-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.signatureluxurytravel.com.au\/electric-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"3 luxe electric vehicles you need to know about"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1717137114213{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]The top-end of car design is joining the call for EVs, writes Michael Stahl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The automotive industry is undergoing its greatest upheaval since 1908 when the simplicity of Henry Ford\u2019s mass-produced Model T cemented the future for internal combustion-engined (ICE) cars over the struggling alternatives of steam and electric vehicles. This century\u2019s politically enforced return of the electric vehicle has effectively handed automotive designers a fresh sheet of paper. Where an ICE vehicle demands the packaging of its large engine and transmission along with occupants and luggage, an electric vehicle\u2019s (EV) compact motor or motors are more flexibly located and its huge battery, typically weighing upwards of 500 kilograms, can be sandwiched into the vehicle\u2019s floor. As the technology that powers these cars becomes more generic, carmakers are leaning heavily on design to distinguish their brands.<\/p>\n

One thing that hasn\u2019t changed is that the luxury end of the market provides the profit cushion for carmakers to absorb the cost of new technologies like the still-developing EV powertrains. Luxury models effectively pay for the introduction of new designs, materials and comfort features that will eventually trickle down to the mainstream.<\/p>\n

New competition will soon come from two legacy carmakers: Cadillac, General Motors venerable limousine flagship brand, and British sports car marque Lotus, who will each wade into the EV-SUV segment in Australia by the end of 2024. Cadillac\u2019s Lyriq (from around $135,000) is expectedly large, lardy (at 2.5 tonnes) and luxurious and will compete against the likes of the BMW iX, Tesla Model X and Mercedes-Benz EQE. Meanwhile, Lotus aims to recapture its Formula 1 glory with the stunningly styled Eletre, due here mid-year from $239,000.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1717136951482{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Polestar 4 Electric Vehicle<\/h3>\n

Polestar, the sino-pseudo-Swedish EV brand, has been quick in establishing itself as the design-driven nemesis of EV king Tesla. Polestar has aspects of both \u2018legacy\u2019 automotive brand and disruptor. The company originated in the mid-2000s as the performance arm of Volvo before, being spun off as a pure EV brand in in 2017. The Polestar 4 is a futuristic five-door EV priced from $81,500 for 200kW single-motor, and $92,150 for 400kW dual-motor. Its body design caps a five-seater family car with a sleek, sports-coupe roofline; a potentially discordant union first seen in BMW\u2019s X6 of 2008 and refined since in Porsche\u2019s Macan.<\/p>\n

The 4 is certainly forward-looking in being the first mainstream passenger car to lack a rear window, relying on a roof-mounted camera. The Scandi-cool interior design is remarkable mainly for its sustainability, with recycled PET materials (or optional leather) and simplified recycling.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”90122″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1717141156422{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/R9lnkeWdtTs?si=dgeAzvtHbATtrGsQ”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1717137956106{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Ferrari Purosangue<\/h3>\n

Imagine the Vatican announcing that it will open a chain of hamburger outlets. Outrageous, but not so far from the 2018 announcement by Ferrari of its first four-door model, an SUV. Keep in mind that this company has built nothing but pure sports cars since 1948.<\/p>\n

Just arrived in Australia, the Ferrari Purosangue (meaning pure-blood, or thoroughbred) is to an SUV what A5 Kobe steak is to hamburger mince. The Purosangue may well have four doors, but key elements like the 6.5-litre V12 engine, 0-100km\/h in 3.3 seconds, a 310km\/h top speed and pricing from $728,000 \u2013 with an 18-month wait list \u2013 all sound like a Ferrari to us.<\/p>\n

Penned by Ferrari chief designer Flavio Manzoni, the Purosangue makes earlier SUV efforts from Lamborghini (Urus) and Porsche (Cayenne) look dowdy. Manzoni\u2019s mastery is evident in countless details such as the \u2018headlight\u2019 graphic (actually, functional air intakes straddling intense LEDs), elegant aerodynamics that flow visibly through as well as over the body, and inside, the handing over of major infotainment controls to the passenger.<\/p>\n

The squat stance, broad haunches and pure coupe roofline sacrifice a middle passenger in the rear cabin, where two fully adjustable sports bucket seats almost replicate those in the front. Access is made easy by rear-hinged, electrically opening rear doors. Though the Purosangue makes no pretensions towards off-roading \u2013 well, nothing more arduous than the road up to Gstaad or Courchevel<\/a> \u2013 it does drive all four wheels, albeit switching to rear-wheel drive above 200km\/h to preserve sporty high-speed handling. While Ferrari already has hybrid models (combining ICE and electric propulsion) in its sports car range, it is expected to unveil its first pure EV sports car in 2025.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”90113″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1717139998845{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/LzhUusCDLeQ?si=SDfQtiNVX0FYX_0a”]

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Rolls-Royce Spectre<\/h3>\n

If one is anguished about spending $750,000 on either a Ferrari Purosangue V12 or Rolls-Royce\u2019s breathtaking Spectre EV coupe, it sadly proves the adage that one can\u2019t afford it. Rolls-Royce knows well that many, perhaps even most, of its owners will also have a Ferrari among their garage of typically seven luxury cars. The Spectre spearheads an all-EV Rolls-Royce model family by 2030.<\/p>\n

This is one brand for which electric propulsion\u2019s qualities of immediate power, silent running and excusable avoirdupois make a lot of sense. Just don\u2019t think too hard about a 5.5-metre-long, 2.1-metre-wide, three-tonne EV being built to benefit the environment.<\/p>\n

Visually masking its size is one of the main triumphs of the Spectre\u2019s designers, along with creating an identity that simultaneously respects a 118-year brand identity and rockets it into the future. The designers retained a long, thrusting bonnet, traditionally implying the presence of a powerful V12 engine beneath \u2013 when in fact there is only the smaller of two electric motors, the larger being mounted at the rear of the car.<\/p>\n

Despite the Spectre\u2019s size and muscular presence, its aerodynamic efficiency value of 0.25Cd is among the world\u2019s best. Between two vast, electrically opening doors, the interior\u2019s overarching attraction is the brand\u2019s now-familiar \u2018starlight\u2019 roof lining, for which the sumptuous leather is pierced with some 4,800 tiny light sources. The brand\u2019s near limitless customising options include replicating the night sky at a particular time and location; say, on the day the owner was born.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”90119″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1717140541517{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/kFCCQkvij1Y?si=tG59TqV89OL8Cyff”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]