We first brought you news of a Japanese auto company called Aspark back in March when the company released a video of its prototype – an all-electric hypercar that, according to Bloomberg, “exists only to humiliate every other car off the line at a stop light.”
The vehicle in question is called the Owl, and it’s said to offer a sprint time of zero to 60 in just under two seconds. And while it was previously reported that Owl was using some fancy tricks to promote its speed capabilities – specifically, racing tires instead of road legal ones – this latest feat in face-melting was reportedly completed in street-legal specs.
Visitors to the Paris Motor Show earlier this month were privy to an in-person view of the Owl, and the company was even starting to take pre-orders.
According to Bloomberg, Aspark will limit the Owl run to 50 produced, but that might be enough since they’re also targeting a pretty small niche – race car fiends with a mere $3.6 million just laying around. Oh, yeah, and these speed enthusiasts also need to be prepared to put up a non-refundable deposit in the low 7-figures.
So, is it worth it? Visitors to the Paris Motor Show weren’t really able to see first-hand, because the Owl on display was a shell and the one test vehicle that’s ready now was safely warehoused back in Japan.
And while Bloomberg describes the design as both “sleek” and “voluptuous,” it also throws some shade: besides its incredible speed, the Owl is “fairly unremarkable.” In fact, its top speed and electric range are lower than many of its rivals. Really, the biggest thing that’s higher – much higher – is the price tag.
Will speed demons pony up the cash to “crack the two-second barrier” when they could get a Tesla Roadster for literally 7 percent of the expenditure? Did they call Jay Leno?