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Detroit Electric says ‘it’s not following Tesla’, announces all-electric sedan and SUV after its Lotus Elise-based car

detroit-electric-sp01-assembly

If it doesn’t ring a bell, Tesla’s first vehicle, the Roadster, was an all-electric sports car based on the Lotus Elise. It went out of production in 2012 after Tesla’s contract for gliders with Lotus ended. Now it’s sort of getting a new life with Detroit Electric’s SP:01.

Detroit Electric today has little to do with its predecessor of the same name, which pioneered electric vehicles in 1907. Although the company still has offices in Detroit, the headquarters are now located in the Netherlands, and the cars are being assembled in the U.K., which is convenient considering it’s where Lotus is based.

After a limited production run last year, Detroit Electric says it’s about to have an official debut for the vehicle later this year and the company was in Norway, an important market for electric vehicles, last week to set up a partnership with a local dealership.
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Jay Leno is “restomodding” a 1914 Detroit Electric car [Video]

Jay Leno 1914 Detroit Electric

Notorious gear-head Jay Leno has been a long-time supporter of electric vehicles and his latest restoration is a great reminder of the history of the segment.

Leno bought the body of a 1914 Detroit Electric car and he is restoring it while upgrading its electric drivetrain, which he calls “restomodding” – a combination of “restoration” and “modding”.
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Detroit Electric started production on the SP:01, a Lotus-based electric sport car

landscape-1446147952-detroit-electricYesterday Detroit Electric announced it finally started production on the SP:01, a Lotus Exige-based electric sport car. The company released on its Facebook page a picture (see above) of the first few cars rolling off the production line in Leamington Spa, U.K.

If an electric sport car based on a Lotus rings a bell for you, it’s probably because of the Tesla Roadster which was based on the Elise and at first also assembled by Lotus in England, although Tesla ended up repatriating most of the assembly process in U.S.
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