Japan-based automaker Aspark announced Tuesday that its flagship supercar, The Owl, is now available at select locations in Europe and North America. While only 50 models were announced as being available back in October, plans are to add more retailers in a few weeks, most of them in Europe and the Middle East. Despite the small fleet that's rolled out, much of the hype has focused on The Owl's status as Japan's first fully-electric hypercar, one with a few powerful surprises under its hood.
Goes From 0-60 In Less Than 2 Seconds
Since 2018, the company had been pushing The Owl as a supercar that cranks out nearly 2,000 horsepower. It's also sparked a lot of publicity over having the ability to go 0-60 mph in less than two seconds.
The hype over the Owl's acceleration was confirmed back in October when a team of experts from Michelin tested the car at the Misano World Circuit track in Italy, clocking its jumpstart prowess from 0-60 mph at 1.72 seconds, a record reportedly unmatched by any of Aspark's competition.
“It’s a great honor for us to announce this achievement, reached in a record time,” said Aspark CEO Masanori Yoshida at the time. “In 2015 when we decided to make this project no one believed it could have been done.”
Battery Range Is 280 Miles
The power needed to pull off that feat is courtesy of four electric motors that can create up to 1,480 kW and a combined 2,012 horsepower and torque of 2,000 Newton meters (roughly 1,475 pound-feet), enabling it to hit a top speed of nearly 250 mph. It can also hit RPMs as high as 15,000.
According to Aspark engineers, those stats would make The Owl three times more powerful than Formula E racecars and twice as powerful as the best engines Formula 1 has to offer. And with a car that robust, the payments will be equally powerful on your bank account, with each Owl going for at least $3.2 million.
This Owl Is A Real Low Rider
Additional selling points that Aspark plans to take advantage of is its additional status concerning its height: at 99 centimeters (nearly 39 inches), it's the lowest-riding hypercar in the world, although the vehicle has three different settings for chassis clearance. Its automatic transmission allows for four different driving modes. The chassis is composed of a carbon monocoque material while the body is built from the highest quality of carbon fiber reinforced polymers.
The question is, as speedy as The Owl has demonstrated itself to be, will it clear showrooms just as fast, especially in an unpredictable economy still struggling in the middle of a pandemic?
Source: Aspark