First electric car of the brand
German carmaker Wiesmann is celebrating a comeback with an electric luxury roadster
With the Thunderball, Wiesmann is launching a new roadster as an electric car
© Wiesmann Sports Cars GmbH
Wiesmann’s trade lies in the manufacture of roadster vehicles – even if production was at a standstill for a long time. But now the German carmaker has announced an electric luxury roadster. Wiesmann’s comeback is imminent.
After Wiesmann had been quiet for the past few years, there is now news. The carmaker has presented a roadster as an electric car in the upscale vehicle segment: the “Thunderball Project”.
The photos published on Facebook in March and the short video clip in which a roadster in camouflage drifted through the snow was now followed by “The return of an icon”, as the company itself put it.
The Thunderball unveiled on Wednesday is a roadster with small round headlights at the front – characteristic of Wiesmann. In addition, the two-seater convertible appears with an extremely long front end, so that the vehicle occupants sit just in front of the rear axle. A ducktail spoiler is installed at the rear.
The new Wiesmann project builds on the legacy and elegantly zooms into the future. After all, Wiesmann promises “a breathtaking, luxurious interior and the finest materials”. Leather, carbon fiber, hand-formed wood veneers and metal surfaces can be found here.
Wiesmann Thunderball is intended to reflect the revolution in the automotive world
The Westphalian carmaker speaks of an “extraordinary project” that reflects the current revolution in the entire automotive world. It is launching one of the first all-electric roadsters in the world, reminiscent of Tesla’s roadster announcement. The model of the US electric car manufacturer should come onto the market in the coming year at the earliest.
The 4.40 meter long and 2.20 meter wide Thunderball will offer the power, handling and performance “for which we are known”. Equipped with two electric motors on the rear axle and a sports chassis, the roadster has a total output of up to 680 hp and a maximum torque of 1,100 Nm. In addition, the approximately 1.7-ton Stromer should accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than three seconds, which, according to the developers, is also due to the aluminum chassis and a newly developed carbon fiber body.
The electric motors are powered by an 83 kWh battery with an 800 volt architecture. The Thunderball charges with a 22 kW on-board unit at the socket and at public fast charging stations with up to 300 KW direct current. Wiesmann is aiming for a range of 500 kilometers. The sports car manufacturer specifies the power consumption as 20.5 kWh per 100 kilometers.
Shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel should enable direct adjustment of an intelligent, regenerative braking system. Accordingly, the driver can set the deceleration of the two electric motors in five stages so that different engine braking effects can be selected before corners. This is to save energy and charge the battery.
Electric car can be ordered from 300,000 euros
Wiesmann went bankrupt in early 2014 and was taken over by a pair of British brothers two years later. The company had already announced “Project Gecko” in 2020, but the sports car with a BMW M engine has not yet gone into series production. Currently, however, the carmaker is apparently working on its production.
In addition, the Thunderball is also to go into production, which will also be handmade in Dülmen, Westphalia. The Roadster can now be ordered at a proud basic price of 300,000 euros. It is not yet known when production will start. Meanwhile, Wiesmann has announced, “continue to innovate [zu] develop” and to give the Thunderball even more power.
Sources: Wiesmann, Auto-Motor-und-Sport