The firm formerly known as Saab has revealed an all-electric, 474kW sedan with more than 1000km of range, as it seeks a buyer for the company to get the car into production.
Built by NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) – which acquired Saab in 2012 after it went bankrupt – the “Emily GT” concept is fitted with a 175kWh battery pack giving it more than 1000km of range, reported Swedish media outlets Auto Motor Sport and Carup.
As a large premium all-electric sedan, it’s likely that the Emily GT would face competition from the likes of the Tesla Model S, the BMW i7, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS. That’s if the Swedish firm is able to put it into production.
Work first began on the Emily GT project in 2019
An 89kW electric motor powers each individual wheel, allowing for tricky torque vectoring and giving a total output of 356kW. Engineers report an all-wheel-drive, 474kW version with 2200Nm of torque is also on the cards.
A team of 350 technicians and engineers – many formerly of Saab – took the Emily GT from blank piece of paper to fully functioning prototype in just 10 months. NEVS has produced six Emily GT prototype vehicles.
Andrew Whitehead, CEO of Protean Electric which supplied the Emily GT’s powertrain, said by mounting the electric motors inside the wheels, the car had handling unlike any other electric vehicle.
The team behind the Emily GT are mostly former Saab engineers
“We’ve all worked really hard to make sure the wheel motors integrate into the vehicle really well,” said Whitehead. “Integrate with the brakes, integrate with the control of the vehicle to ensure you have a refined and credible production solution.”
Development of the car commenced in December 2019, NEVS Program Director Peter Dahl only revealing the project now as the company seeks a buyer.
The Emily GT looks to use a large portrait-mounted screen in the centre of the dash
Chinese real estate heavyweight Evergrande Group purchased Swedish-based NEVS in 2019, but was forced to hibernate the company after encountering business difficulties off the back of COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
Dahl hopes by revealing the until-recently top secret project, a buyer for the company may be found – helping the chances of the Emily GT becoming a reality.
