When all your friends drive Ferraris or Lamborghinis how do you get one up on them? You buy a hypercar so fast, so exotic and above all, so expensive as to be utterly unobtainable for 99.99% of the population. And if a McLaren P1 or Bugatti Chiron doesn’t suit your environmental credentials, how about a Dendrobium?
Unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show, the black and white Dendrobium is an electric two-seater unlike any car you’ve ever seen. Giant wheels are housed in individual pods with red-painted wishbones linking them to the composite monocoque. A single LED taillight bridges the rear and brings to mind the spoiler from a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
Climb in by lifting the rear-hinged doors upwards, “butterfly” style. (That’s how they’re described by Vanda Electric, the Singaporean company behind this wild creation.) Inside there’s copious quantities of carbon-fiber, punctuated by hexagonal buttons for the various controls. Is there room for your golf clubs? Doubtful.
Powertrain details are sketchy – it is only a concept, albeit one that’s fully detailed – but there’s talk of four electric motors and a total output of 1,000 horsepower. Vanda anticipate a 0-60 time of 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 199 mph, numbers that seem entirely feasible.
Also feasible at some point: production. Vanda already builds an electric truck, so they know the technology, and they’re partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering who know about automotive performance. There’s no word on pricing though, but you can be sure a Dendrobium electric hypercar will be expensive enough to impress your friends.