A new British company has revealed a pair of ‘featherweight’ electric cars it says will go into production next year and aims to stick it to Elon Musk.
Longbow, which claims to be ‘the first-ever British electric sports car manufacturer’, was founded in 2023 by a trio of electric vehicle masterminds with backgrounds at Tesla as well as Lucid, BYD, Polestar, Uber and even an electric speedboat brand.
Less than two years after establishing, it is now ready to showcase the cars it intends to bring to market to create an entirely new segment it has dubbed FEVs – featherweight electric vehicles.
Despite being powered only by – traditionally heavy – batteries, the two-seat Speedster and Roadster coupe will tip the scale at less than 995kg, the firm says. To put this into context, it’s on par with the weight of a Hyundai i10, the smallest petrol city car sold in the UK.
With prices starting from £65,000, Longbow will go head-to-head with established – and much loved – internal combustion engine sports cars like the Porsche 718 Cayman S and Alpine A110 as well as MG’s new Cyberster roadster.
But it will also be a dig at Musk’s US brand, which is expected to charge £200,000 ($250k) for the next Tesla Roadster when it reportedly arrives later this year.
Watch out Elon! Start-up Longbow claims to be the ‘first-ever British sports car manufacturer’ that’s been formed by a trio made-up of former execs at Tesla, Lucid and BYD. These are the first tow ‘featherweight’ EVs it intends to sell from next year…
The striking Longbow designs might make anyone who placed a £38,000 deposit for a Tesla Roadster think about asking for it back – especially as the launch date for Musk’s long-delayed sports car still remains a mystery.
Longbow says its Roadster and roofless Speedster will ‘offer a unique take on the rich British tradition of lightweight sportscars, focusing on real-road performance with an unparalleled driving experience’.
Its intentions hint at becoming something of a spiritual successor to Lotus of old, which carried designer Colin Chapman’s famous tag line: ‘Simplify, then add lightness’ – something the marque has shifted away from under Chinese ownership of late, which has seen it launch the 2.6-tonne Eletre SUV and Emeya saloon (2.5 tonnes).
The company also claims to take inspiration from the legendary Jaguar E-Type with a focus on ‘beauty, lightweight construction, impeccable engineering, and meticulous hand finishing’.
The new models are underpinned by a bespoke Longbow aluminium chassis engineered for minimal weight and maximum stiffness.
The start-up also promises to use lighter and more compact motors and batteries than those currently seen on the market to create agile cars with eye-watering power-to-weight figures.
The Speedster will be sold first in limited numbers of just 150 units, which Longbow is already taking reservations for under the proviso it will start from £84,995
The striking Longbow designs might make anyone who placed a £38,000 deposit for a Tesla Roadster think about asking for it back – especially as the launch date for Musk’s long-delayed sports car still remains a mystery
Claiming to offer an ‘open-topped experience like no other’, Speedster’s omission of a roof, windows or windscreen means it will weigh a mere 895kg. In terms of performance, the company promises a 0-to-62mph sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a battery range of 275 mile
The Speedster will be sold first in limited numbers of just 150 units, which Longbow is already taking reservations for under the proviso it will start from £84,995.
Claiming to offer an ‘open-topped experience like no other’, the omission of a roof, windows or windscreen means it will weigh a mere 895kg.
In terms of performance, the company promises a 0-to-62mph sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a battery range of 275 miles.
The ‘Roadster’, which is actually a hard-top coupe but uses the name as a two-finger salute to Mr Musk, will come in at 995kg, be a tenth of a second slower to 62mph and ring in at £64,995.
This could see it go into direct battle with the top-of-the-range dual-motor electric MG Cyberster roadster, which starts from £59,995.
Despite being powered only by – traditionally heavy – batteries, the ‘Roadster’ tips the scale at less than 995kg.That’s on par with the Hyundai i10 (right), the smallest petrol city car sold in the UK
The ‘Roadster’, which is actually a hard-top coupe but uses the name as a two-finger salute to Tesla’s own sports car, will come in at 995kg, be a tenth of a second slower to 62mph than the Speedster but ring in cheaper at £64,995
The founding trio of Longbow (L to R): Daniel Davey, Jenny Keisu, Mark Tapscott
Longbow has not yet confirmed the location of where these cars will be produced by says they will be ‘designed, engineered and hand-built in the UK’.
Its trio of founders are veterans of the EV space: Daniel Davey first started working at Tesla in 2010; Mark Tapscott has launched electric cars with Tesla, BYD and Lucid Motors; and Jenny Keisu is a former CEO at electric boat maker X Shore and has forged a career successfully launching startups.
‘There are only a few places in the world where you can hand build a sportscar,’ Tapscott said.
‘Here in the UK, British engineering and automotive craftsmanship have a long history of developing lightweight sportscars with great commercial and competitive success.
‘Longbow is the next chapter in that story, harnessing those same ideas to create the greatest driver’s cars of the modern era.’
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