2015
Renovo Coupe
Every
year, some company with more ambition than experience puts out a press release
and a rendering and a litany of promises about revolutionary, all-electric
performance. Then silence. It's the cult of ego and vaporware. Renovo is not a
member, and it's out to prove it with an electric Shelby Daytona with 1,000
lb-ft of torque.
Rather
than putting on a relentless parade of hype, Renovo has been in stealth mode
since its founding in 2010, and Pebble Beach is their coming out party.
For
four years, Renovo's CEO Christopher Heiser and its CTO Jason Stinson have been
working under the radar on new breed of supercar that takes the latest EV
technology and wraps it in something dripping with American performance
heritage. Yup, that's a factory modified Shelby Daytona CSX9000, just in time
for the car's 50th anniversary.
Three
modular lithium-ion battery packs are employed, one behind the driver and two
of them in the engine compartment, under the long rectangular power electronics
units that are canted about 10 degrees each to sort of look like valve covers,
with the orange wires that connect to them pretending to be big spark-plug
leads. Two three-phase AC permanent magnet motors mount right behind them about
where the bell housing would be on a gas Shelby, and they drive the rear axle
directly (no forward gear ratios, just drive and reverse). The two motors are
both rigidly mounted to the same output shaft, but selectively running them one
at time or in tandem optimizes power and efficiency.
Those
thin orange cables are your first clue that Renovo is utilizing an operating
voltage about double that of other high-output EVs—740 volts. This greatly
reduces the current required to achieve the target horsepower (500-plus) and
torque (1000-plus lb-ft), which in turn reduces the cable-gauge required to
support it (halving the voltage would increase the amount of copper required by
roughly 50 pounds).
The
interior looks entirely custom except for the Audi R8 shifter and a row of
toggles that look Mini-sourced. Toggling that R8 shifter forward or back alters
the amount of regen you get when lifting off the accelerator, which helps
preserve the feel of the 6-piston front/4-piston rear Brembo brakes. Custom gauges
indicate real-time torque delivery and electrical-system temperature on the
left, speed and a “fuel” gauge on the right, and a small gauge indicating gear
position, power/regen, and remaining range in the center. Speaking of
temperature, the batteries and power electronics are liquid cooled via the
Shelby radiator (a smaller more aerodynamic setup is coming).
Pricing
will be discussed much closer to the production date (customer deliveries are
anticipated to start in late 2015) but you’d better budget for middle
six-figures. For that you’ll get 0-60 mph in a claimed 3.4 seconds, but with a
top speed of just over 120 mph. That number concerns me because it might not be
fast enough for some tracks’ long straightways. You’d hate for this claimed
3250-pound low-CG car to pass everyone in the twists, only to be overtaken on
the straights. The company hopes to sell just 100 units over several years,
taking advantage of their low volumes to sidestep some pesky airbag and
crash-testing laws, though I’m assured the crash protection is robust. We look
forward to verify Renovo’s performance claims before long.
