Japanese electric hypercar has broken the record for the highest average speed over an eighth and quarter of a mile.
The all-electric Aspark Owl hypercar has set two world records, showcasing its impressive performance on an airfield in the UK.
Set for customer deliveries later this year, the £2.5 million (AUD$4.74 million) Owl achieved Guinness World Records for the highest average speed over a quarter of a mile and eighth of a mile.
It completed an eighth of a mile at an average speed of 309.02kph and stormed through the quarter mile at an average of 318.85kph. That makes it one of the fastest EVs ever built, alongside the Rimac Nevera.
However, the Rimac is still the world’s quickest electric production car over the quarter mile, with a time of 8.582sec. It’s also the record holder for the highest top speed reached by an electric car, at 415km/h.
The Japanese hypercar set the record at a Straightliners event at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, where it was confirmed by the UK Timing Association. The Owl made its first public European appearance at Salon Privé earlier this year, ahead of customer deliveries in the next few months.
It’s claimed by the firm to be the “fastest-accelerating car in the world”, with 1480kW produced from four electric motors. That’s almost twice the power of a Formula 1 car. It also clocked a 0-60mph (97km/h) sprint of 1.72sec at the Misano World Circuit.
Just 50 examples are set to be produced. Aspark says the Owl, which made its public debut in Dubai last year, is actually able to go even faster, with a 0-60mph target of under 1.7sec. This makes it the fastest-accelerating road-legal production car in the world to 60mph, slashing 0.6sec off the 0-60mph time of the Tesla Model S.
The Owl is fitted with a “unique” battery pack for a claimed range of up to 450km. The four-motor powertrain generates around 2000Nm of torque, with the motors rotating at up to 15,000rpm. Top speed is quoted as 400km/h.
The Owl’s 64kWh lithium ion battery is of a much smaller capacity than those in competing electric hypercars from the likes of Rivian and Lotus, with the aim of reducing weight. The car’s chassis is made from carbonfibre, as are most of its other components, contributing to a claimed dry weight of 1900kg.
The Owl was initially announced as a concept at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show. The production version gains an automatically extending spoiler, digital cameras integrated into the wing mirrors and an interior redesign that moves controls and switches to the ceiling.
Aspark CEO Mansanori Yoshida told reporters: “It’s a great honour for Aspark to be the first to announce this achievement, reached in a record time. When we first announced this project, no one believed it could have been done. It is true that we do not have a long history, but we are now completing what is the first Japanese electric hypercar.”