Ariel’s 1,180-Horsepower Electric Hipercar Looks Downright Insane

Naming a car can be a pretty daunting task nowadays. Most names of exotic locales and violent animals have already been taken. And numbers are just boring. So British boutique automaker Ariel thought they’d save themselves the hassle and just call their new hypercar project exactly what it is: the Hipercar.

Alright, we kinda lied; that’s not its final name — it stands for “High-Performance Carbon Reduction” — but the Ariel Hipercar will be hitting the road before the end of the decade. The closed car will have two models with some pretty impressive credentials.

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The first uses four small electric motors with one positioned next to each wheel. It will lay down an obscene 1,180 horsepower and 1,330 pound-feet of torque. That translates to a top speed 257 kmh and a 0-100 of just 2.4 seconds. The second model uses just two electric motors, therefore achieving 590 horsepower and 665 pound-feet of torque.

Ariel — famous for its track-proven (and apparently Chris Brown co-signed) Atom — has stated power will be provided by a 42kWh battery combined with a 35kW micro-turbine gas range extender to dwell range anxiety.

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We won’t have to wait too long to see the Hipercar in action. Ariel is teaming up with Equipmake and Delta Motorsport to showcase both prototypes at the Low Carbon Vehicle Show next month in the UK.

A full release is planned for 2019. Hopefully, they’ll have come up with a better name by then.