► High-tech electric motor concept
► Will tackle 2023 Goodwood FOS
► Designer also behind Nissan GT-R
Japanese car designer Shiro Nakamura certainly doesn’t like to be pigeon-holed. Machines as diverse as the Nissan Cube and R35 GT-R – not to mention the Isuzu Vehicross – were brought to life under his guidance. And now his SN Design Platform firm is credited with the visual gloss on this brand new electric car, the AIM EV Sport 01.
Technically, it the EV Sport 01 is a concept car. But that’s not going to stop AIM president and CEO Yukinori Suzuki giving it the beans up the Goodwood hill climb during the 2023 Festival of Speed.
Which should be interesting, as unlike most other dual-motor electric vehicles, the AIM EV Sport 01 is rear-wheel drive.
Is the AIM EV Sport 01 real or not?
It started out as a concept designed to showcase AIM Company Limited’s new APM200 electric motor (catchy name, right?), and was initially revealed in April 2023.
It’s claimed that reaction to the car was so positive that AIM – a Japanese engineering firm established in 1998, until now firmly rooted in the internal combustion powertrain business – is considering putting it into limited production.
As a showcase for the business’s new electric motors, even the concept is a running project. Just how much development has already been done we’re all about to find out at Goodwood FOS.
How do the stats look?
Kind of impressive, actually. The EV Sport 01 has two of AIM’s APM200 motors, but instead of attaching one to each axle, both are being used to drive the rear wheels via ‘an advanced torque vectoring system’.
Total output is said to be 360kW at the moment – that’s 483bhp, with 531lb ft providing the accompanying punchline – but AIM reckons over 600bhp is feasible from the components.
Either way, combine the figures, RWD and a kerbweight of just 1,425kg, and the EV Sport 01 is shaping up to be a bit of a wild ride.
AIM hasn’t even skimped on the battery capacity, saying there’s 81kWh’s of lithium-ion juice onboard, spread across four laminate rechargeable packs.
There’s no claimed driving range or performance figures given yet, but the indications are very promising.
Surely that can’t all add up?
Final twist here is that the AIM EV Sport 01 uses a ‘multi-tubular aluminium frame’ – suggesting it’s basically a tube-frame chassis – with a central carbonfibre tub.
Double wishbone suspensions front and rear gives it racing chops and the potential for proper handling, while the body panels are all carbonfibre laminate, helping to minimise the weight.
We’d like to have a seen a little less unsprung mass, though – those are 20-inch wheels on a car just 3.9m long, 1.9m wide and 1.2m tall. With a 2.4m wheelbase.
The dimensions are extremely similar to those of the current Mazda MX-5. So imagine one of those with around 2.5 times the horsepower but just 37 per cent more weight.
Why rear-wheel drive?
If the MX-5 comparison isn’t explanation enough, Yukinori Suzuki explains: ‘The vision for the AIM EV Sport 01 was fast, and enjoyable to drive, while the mainstream trend for EVs is AWD, the character of this car called for a RWD configuration.’
He continues: ‘Having created our own series of advanced electric motors, the AIM EV Sport 01 is also the perfect way to showcase our expertise in advanced powertrain development. I am really excited to be personally driving the car up the hill at Goodwood this year!’
No doubt…
And the design influence?
Over to Shiro Nakamura: ‘We learned from the spirit of the great sports cars of the past, helped by the RWD configuration and layout. I wanted to express dynamism with sophisticated elegance through a simple, clean design.
‘The EV Sport 01 has minimal form language and avoids exaggerated and complicated surfaces, reminiscent of the great European and Japanese sports cars of the 1960’s. Given that inspiration, it is particularly fitting we can demonstrate our car at Goodwood.’
To our eyes, the EV Sport 01 looks like a TVR Speed 12 mixed up with a Volkswagen XL1 – quite the combo, if not quite that touted classic ’60s racer vibe.
We’re looking forward to seeing it in action.