It seems like the electric car revolution has begun. As Elon Musk's Tesla makes small but revolutionary inroads into a future where all vehicles run on batteries instead of diesel, more traditional automakers — from the makers of middle-the-road mass production vehicles to luxury supercar outfits — are slowly but surely making significant investments in electric vehicles as well.
The latest carmaker to promise an all-electric vehicle is none other than Aston Martin, the 102-year-old luxury marque notable for its super-sleek, super-fast and traditionally British cars that make it to the big screen as Agent 007's favorite supercars. Will James Bond ride an electric Aston Martin in the future? Possibly so, says Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. As long as it's "fast and beautiful," Bond will want it, Palmer says.
The first all-electric car to roll out of Aston Martin's production line is expected to meet those standards, as it will be a beefed up, electric version of the company's four-door, high-performance Rapide sports car. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in London, Palmer said the company's first electric vehicle will live up to Aston Martin's tradition of power and performance.
"We're talking about an electric Aston Martin with between 800 and 1,000 horsepower - imagine having all that torque on demand," Palmer said.
For comparison, the 2015 Rapide has a 552 horsepower, with a top speed of 203 mph and sprint time of 4.2 seconds. Meanwhile, the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car launched in 2008, has 302 horsepower and goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph.
"Time's up for diesel." - @astonmartin CEO @andyataston at #BNEFSummit pic.twitter.com/XT30G3xF1W
— BloombergNEF (@BloombergNEF) October 12, 2015
But Palmer is not concerned about Tesla, which looks to target a wider, middle-class market with the impending launch of its $35,000 Model S sedan. Although he believes the entire car industry is facing an inevitable shift into electric drivetrains because of the rising cost of traditional engines and the tightening rules regarding the environmental impact of these engines, Aston Martin will continue to go after the big guys with its big engines.
"We're a V-12 engine company," he said. "Project that into the future. Do I go the way of the rest of the industry and downsize the engine? Do I see Aston Martin with a three-cylinder engine? God forbid. You've got to do something radical. Electric power gives you that power. It gives you that torque."
The all-electric Aston Martin Rapide is expected to roll off the production line by the end of 2017, followed by an electric version of the DBX crossover the company unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.
