Wiesmann announces its first EV - the 680hp Project Thunderball
For the last 22 years Wiesmann has been making some of the best coach built performance cars of the Old Continent. From the very beginning back in 1988 the focus was on quality and performance, and from the beginning Wiesmann nailed it.
It starts almost as a fairy tale: two brothers went to the Essen Motor Show in 1985 and couldn’t find a car that would fulfill their expectations. As any self-respecting German would do when faced with the same problem, they decided to build their own car.
They had only 2 requirements - for it to look like the classic British racing car and to have performance unlike anything else out there at the time. With that in mind they went ahead and created what became known as Wiesmann MF3 Roadster - a car that changed perceptions of what can be achieved by a small German company.
The MF3 Roadster was a roaring (literally) success - it was unveiled in 1993 after 5 years of development, it had a custom built chassis and it was running BMW M3 engine and drivetrain, it was amazing. All cars were custom built to order and the waiting list was long, Wiesmann was recognised by BMW for the quality of the product and the two companies signed a partnership allowing Wiesmann to sell cars with BMW warranty.
MF3 was followed by GT MF4 available for the first time as a coupe and convertible and engines were updated to BMW normally aspirated and twin-turbo V8s. 2008 saw Wiesmann opening new factory in the shape of a gecko - it has been company’s logo from the start since its cars were meant to stick to the road just like those little lizards.
GT MF5 launched the same year and Wiesmann started to look to expand to Asia and the Middle East. This success didn’t go unnoticed and the company was bought by Contec Global in 2016 who injected much needed funds into development of new models.
Fast forward to 2022 and we have the EV reincarnation of this amazing history, investment and above all pure passion for classic performance car design. Say hello to Wiesmann Project Thunderball. The world’s first all-electric convertible sports car. Feast your eyes:
Built on Wiesmann’s frame designed in-house with a view to be used for electric performance car and its petrol twin - the still secret Project Gecko. You cannot mistake this car for any other brand, it’s Wiesmann and you can tell that from a country mile. It’s the classic long bonnet, sculpted wheel arches, classic grille, low slung body with a hump over the rear axle finished with round tail lights running towards the middle of the rear bumper. Only there's no tailpipe in sight.
Even when standing still this car looks as if it’s moving. The design has been perfected and Wiesmann didn’t experiment with it, just updated it a little bit, enough to make it modern but keeping it recognizable. Whichever angle you look at this car from, it looks stunning - a piece of art.
The interior again is on another level - pure luxury yet no tackiness, this is after all a performance car. Classic gauges sit neatly in the center console made out of single piece of carbon fiber, all angled towards the driver. Since it’s really difficult to live without a screen these days Thunderbolt delivers one as well - but unlike most EVs the screen is not the prime focus of the cockpit. Instead it sits just below the gauges and does its job quietly without turning into fully blown cinema on wheels.
The interior is dominated by leather and carbon fiber, tall sports seats clearly ready for serious driving. Small on/off button is sitting just next to the speedometer that runs all the way to 300km/h - this isn't just a show, oh no - this elegant classic has got the power to match its looks.
Project Thunderbolt is the most powerful Wiesmann to have ever left the factory - by a mile. And that's saying something. Each of its two electric motors placed mid-rear for perfect balance churns out the unbelievable 250kW per motor giving it total maximum power of 680 ponies going wild with the rear wheels. The torque? A not too shabby 1,100 Nm. Enough to stop the Earth from spinning for a split second or rip the tarmac off the road if you’re not careful. And it comes with a limited slip differential - yikes! No bend will be the same ever again.
The Thunderbolt runs on 800V arcitecture and it can charge its 83kWh battery at up to 300kW DC so the lucky owners will never be stuck for too long at the charging station. Claimed range of 500km (WLTP) is decent if unspectacular, but the 0-100km/h time of 2.9 seconds is truly impressive.
It’s good that Wiesmann thought about bringing all this fun to a safe stop and it equips the Thunderbolt with 380mm brakes front and back, hugged by 6 piston calipers at the front and 4 piston items at the rear. This much power and torque goes through the 21” tyres of 305mm width at the back and 265mm at the front - it makes sense to purchase some shares of your favorite tyre company because you’ll buy a lot of tyres for this car.
This carbon fiber, steel and aluminum beast weighs 1775kg giving it power to weight ratio of 400 hp per tonne, and it comes with 305 liters of luggage space. It isn’t your average prototype or design exercise - you can order one soon, have it tailor made to your requirements and happily tear the tarmac in style.
Enjoy the gallery of Wiesmann Project Thunderball:
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