– Axel Spring in Spain
Electric cars have blurred the line between power, performance, sportiness… and passion. Or not?
A whopping 170 hp. It’s what the BMW 2002 Turbo had. The grandfather of the M3, a savage that in 1973 made the hair like Viking spikes to those who wanted to go fast with it. A few years later, the R21 Turbo arrived with 175 CV.
Here I already had use of reason and I was going crazy with it: a “two-litre” engine with 175 CV! I remember my father saying that was absurd. “That much power? That’s crazy,” he used to tell me.
Things have changed a bit. If you go to the website of a manufacturer, it will be difficult for you to find not only references to sports models that have marked an era (which too), but the technical specifications or the power of the car that they want to sell you at all costs. Lots of colors, animations and such. You won’t even know how much it’s going to cost you with so much promotion.
Let’s go back to power. 170 CV of one and 175 CV of another. Two beasts of the road that were a lot of fun to drive. They were also two different philosophies, but they shared one thing: their manufacturers used sportsmanship as a hallmark to emphasize the connection with the driver and power figures as a selling point.
A slow reflection
But is that so now? Lamborghini has presented the Revuelto, a hybrid supercar with 1,015 HP of power. Until a few years ago it was data from aviation engines (the Rolls-Royce V12 Merlin engine was around 1,000 hp or more, depending on the configuration), although now it is “our daily bread”.
By the way, this Lambo continues with disruptive movements: the ISR transmission from the Aventador becomes a double clutch.
But back to the horses. It seems that we have become accustomed to ridiculous figures without stopping to think if we really need them, and with this they have passed into the background. 220 CV in an electric Renault Mégane or 418 in an Audi Q8 e-Tron, to give two examples?
I guess we are in a strange period in the automotive world and no one has the formula to move it forward. Few bet on the emotional bond of driving and many on sustainability, although there are also conflicting points there.
For example, it was famous news that Germany managed a few weeks ago to get Europe to stop selling gasoline cars after 2035, as long as they are powered by e-Fuels. Don’t you know what e-fuels or synthetic fuels are? Click on these red words…
This German vision contrasts with what Linda Jackson, the CEO of Peugeot, has just announced: nothing of e-Fuels: electrification is the solution.
A common vision not only in the giant conglomerate that is Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, the reborn Lancia, Maserati, Abarth, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, RAM), but in manufacturers as disparate as Rolls -Royce, Jaguar or the aforementioned Lamborghini, which will be 100% electric in the medium term).
