Yes, every other automaker is now going electric, with Mercedes doing more headline EQS launches than fossil-fuel equivalents in the previous year and this year. Even the F-150 pickup, for crying out loud, is now being sold electric, and we’ve seen the marvelous Ford Mustang GT350 disappear for a smartphone-ish Mach-E. But rambling about these changes has little impact compared to the discussion about the overall design of these cars.
So far, what most pundits have established is that new electric cars will look weird, and their new fossil-fuel counterparts will look, well, conventional. But these 10 models have a different story to tell. Their designs are some of the most impressive the industry has seen so far in 2022.
9 Aston Martin V12 Speedster
Never in a showroom would you pay about $800,000 for a car without a roof and a windshield, but the Aston Martin V12 Speedster is a different story. This ultra-extreme Speedster from the British manufacturer is not their first attempt at ditching the most important bits of a car’s exterior. Back in the fifties, probably for weight-saving reasons, their stripped-back racers donned the same design.
But being the modern era, the V12 Speedster saves weight by being largely made out of carbon fiber. Then it takes a trip back to the fifties by ditching any form of infotainment so that the driver is solely connected to the car and the road. Only 88 people will own one, and you have to admit this will be a proper machine.
8 Cupra El-Born
In all the rumble about electric cars, very few have talked about the hot hatch and its electrification journey. The Cupra El-Born has started the right conversation. This marque is Cupra’s first all-electric car. It marries the electric platform of VW’s ID3 with the sporting pedigree of the Spanish brand. The result is a fun, future-facing electric hot hatch.
Everything else about it is superb. The car promises a 0-60 mph sprint of about 2.9 seconds and 310 miles of range out of its battery pack. But this will most likely tumble given how brutal hot hatch drivers are with their powertrain.
7 Ford Mustang Mach-E
This is not Ford’s first-ever fully-electric muscle car. The Mustang name has been upgraded to refer to the company’s first-ever fully-electric SUV. Of course, that has inspired a lot of chatter in automotive circles, with many pondering how a galloping, two-door, tire-ripping, muscle car is now an electron-riding four-wheeler with vegan leather.
Nonetheless, Ford has borrowed some original Mustang design cues such as the raised front haunches to keep the crowd happy. And for those who still have one or two to rumble about, there’s no denying that most skepticism will be thrown out of the window given how technically capable and superb this marque is compared to the Tesla Model Y and Polestar 2.
6 Lotus Evija
There’s no other way to describe the Lotus Evija other than wild, alien-like, and completely insane. Top Gear described the car’s acceleration as one that defies the law of physics. The faster it goes, the more you’re hard-pressed on the seat. Even at 160 mph, the acceleration doesn’t let up.
But with 1,972 hp pushing the car through time and space, it’s hard not to understand why this marque feels that way. And in a short pause for a photoshoot, once you’ve broken the fabric of time and space, you’ll be left breathless at how amazing this electric hypercar looks.
5 Audi RS e-tron GT
Audi’s hitting directly at the Porsche Taycan with the RS e-tron GT. To make this marque even more special, this is the closest you can get to having anything in common with Tony Stark, not unless you are a billionaire genius who can make tech even the government’s smartest lab nerds can’t build in 20 years. And that is why this marque is being sold for over $130,000.
The e-tron GT has also been awarded the RS badge because Audi will use it as the headliner in its plunge towards more powerful plug-in electrics. With 650bhp being sent to the wheels, the new generation R8 has a lot on its plate.
4 Rivian R1T
Rivian might be a newcomer, but it's not in the business of playing nice. This part London, part California-based startup, is promising to deliver top-of-the-line electric 4x4s, the first one being the Rivian R1T. Its competition is no other marque other than the formidable Tesla Cybertruck.
The offerings the company already has shown so far are amazing. The R1T will come in three different battery pack sizes, the top-of-the-line being a 180kWh pack with 400 miles of range. According to the company, all these offerings will come with tough underbody protection and a clever algorithm that will learn your driving style and optimize the batteries based on it.
3 Lucid Air
This is the all-electric super-limo everyone is looking forward to. And this is to show that times are clearly changing. A V8 is no longer the hottest thing in a car as it was just five years ago.
Lucid, just like most electric car startups, is also a California-based automaker that is planning to make it big or bigger than Tesla.
The Lucid Air is their 1,080bhp hyper saloon that will sell for $169,000. The company will also sell a limited edition, limited-volume, Lucid Air Dream Edition that is expected to go from 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds with a range of 465miles.
2 Mercedes-AMG Project One
So many petrolheads have asked what can happen to a car when fitted with an F1 engine, but very few have ever had the answer, until this. The Mercedes AMG Project One will show exactly what happens when you put Lewis Hamilton machinery in a car designed for the everyday Joe.
And adding Lewis Hamilton’s name before machinery is not for literal pizzazz. The engine under this marque is the same 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 hybrid engine that Lewis Hamilton won his 2015 Formula One World Championship in. F1 technology has also influenced this marques aerodynamics, promising a car that will be talked about for years.
1 Porsche Mission E-Cross Turismo
If you loved the Porsche Taycan, the Porsche Mission E-Cross Turismo will knock you off your feet. This is the first Taycan spin-off that was due in the summer of 2021. The name itself sounds like an enigma code, and you can bet it is even better.
Yes, some enthusiasts might argue that this marque is designed like a shooting brake which didn’t go quite well with the Panamera initially. But for some reason, it just works with the Mission E-Cross Turismo. It also worked with the Porsche Taycan, which set the gold standard for four-door electric sedans.