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Aspark Owl to Take on Nürburgring EV Record

Melt Your Face Fast

The Aspark Owl Hypercar comes from Japan, and it appears to be the next big thing in EV Hypercars. The model recorded 0-60 mph times under two seconds in 2018, and now the rumors are that it will take on the Nürburgring lap record for EVs.

According to Top Gear, the Aspark Owl will take on the track’s lap record for electric cars. A spokesperson for the company told the publication, “[The] Aspark Owl performances are allowing us to aim [for] the Nürburgring record.” It’s unclear when the car will attempt its lap run, but it would seem the vehicle has a good chance of making that happen based on its 0-60 mph runs and its other specs.

Aspark Owl rear three-quarter — Image from Aspark

The car is simply a performance beast with a countenance like a pissed off alien. The vehicle comes with 1,150 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque. All that power comes from four electric motors, and the vehicle’s battery pack can propel it for up to 180 miles. It has a top speed of 174 mph.

The Nürburgring will be the true test for the car. While it has to be fast to even come close to the record, the track will test the car from an aerodynamic standpoint and a driving dynamics standpoint. With the Owl being specifically designed as a road car, it may have a hard time at the track.

The current record holder is the Nio EP9, which completed the Nürburgring lap in a super fast 6:45.9 in 2017. The Nio is a track only car. Aspark hasn’t ruled out a track version of its hypercar. A track car may be a smart idea if it’s going to take on the ‘Ring.

January 30, 2019 / Comments Off

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$3.6 million Aspark Owl electric supercar preorders begin

Japan’s Aspark is taking preorders for its battery-electric Owl at the Paris Motor Show, promising deliveries starting in mid-2020 for the supercar, first revealed a year ago in Frankfurt, that promises a sprint time of less than 2 seconds.

Bloomberg reports the Japanese engineering firm is taking nonrefundable deposits of 1 million euros — about $1.15 million at today’s conversion rate — and plans to build 50 examples. Total cost of the car will be the equivalent of $3.6 million.

Osaka-based Aspark’s Owl first turned heads at last year’s Frankfurt auto show, saying that its 0-62 mph time of 2 seconds was a key focus in developing the car. It’s now promising to hit that sprint in just 1.99 seconds. In February, the company released a video of the Owl launching in a brisk 1.87 seconds, which rivals the claims made for the next-generation Tesla Roadster, though the prototype was reportedly fitted with racing tires.

The latest specs, per Bloomberg, peg the Owl at 1,150 horsepower and 652 pound-feet of torque, with a dry weight of around 3,300 pounds. That’s up significantly from last year, when the company said it weighed less than 1,900 pounds, though engineers are reportedly still finalizing the powertrain and debating how many electric motors to use. Top speed remains 174 mph, and range is 186 miles on a full charge. You’ll reportedly have to wait another year or so to test-drive it, however.

It’s worth pointing out that the Owl’s specs are dwarfed by fellow electric supercars like the 1,914-hp Rimac C_Two, said to do 0-60 mph in just 1.85 seconds and have a top speed of 258 mph, with 404 miles of range. It’s also a relative bargain at a cool $2.1 million. The new Tesla Roadster, when it launches, will go 620 miles on a charge and be priced at just $250,000.

The Owl is on display this week at the Paris Motor Show.

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October 4, 2018 / Comments Off

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Aspark Owl EV supercar launch videos claim 62 mph in under 2 seconds

At last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, we were introduced to the Aspark Owl, yet another electric supercar (so it gives a hoot and doesn’t pollute), this time from Japan. And like so many of these upstart electric sports cars, it combines striking styling with pretty outrageous claims. The calling card for the Owl was a claimed 0-62 mph time of just 2 seconds. Now, Aspark has released a couple of videos showing the car launching in real life. The company did two launches, and claimed that the car hit the benchmark speed in less than 2 seconds in each run. In the one shown above, it took 1.87 seconds, and the run below was 1.92 seconds. Those match claimed times for the next-generation Tesla Roadster.
As with the reveal in Frankfurt, we’re maintaining a healthy level of skepticism of the Owl. For one thing, we don’t see any shots of the speedometer or any time or speed recording displays. For another, the location seems oddly small to be hustling a car to about 60 mph and back down. It looks like a parking lot behind a warehouse, and though the claimed times would maybe make the feat feasible, we’d be nervous going that fast in a short parking lot that ends in a grassy upward hill.

Despite this skepticism, we’re also not going to brush off the Owl altogether. These videos definitely prove the company has at least one running prototype, and we’re impressed to see the company showing a running car just a few months after the inital reveal. That’s more than could be said about Faraday Future. And while there’s nothing in the video to truly confirm the Owl’s performance, we can tell the thing launches really hard. So overall, we’re cautiously optimistic about the Owl, and if the company keeps rolling out info and video like this, the ratio of caution to optimism will probably shift to optimism’s favor.

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February 16, 2018 / Comments Off

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Aspark introduces the Owl, claims it hits 62 mph in 2 seconds

In a little corner of the massive convention center where the Frankfurt Motor Show is held, a relatively unknown Japanese company revealed a car with some mega-sized claims. The company is called Aspark, and its car is called the Owl, a name that apparently derives from the butterfly doors that representatives said look like an owl’s wings. This electric supercar seems more like a peregrine falcon than an owl, though. The company claims it can hit 62 mph in just 2 seconds.

Aspark Owl

According to representatives of the company, this acceleration number was a key focus when developing the car. They considered going for top speed, but felt that ultimate acceleration is something more people could realistically experience. To achieve this, Aspark gave the Owl a carbon fiber body and kept weight to just under 1,900 pounds. It also gave the car two electric motors powering all four wheels that can produce about 429 horsepower. The company also claims a top speed of just under 174 mph. Another interesting aspect of the car is the use of capacitors for storing power — a choice made for rapid discharge of electricity to help achieve the fast acceleration numbers. With ambitious numbers like these, it will be interesting to see how the car compares to other electric supercars such as the Nio EP9 and the Rimac Concept One.

Aside from the interesting specs, the car itself looks quite attractive. It has an appearance similar to modern Daytona prototype race cars; long, wide, and oh so low. The height at the roof is a scant 39 inches. the car has impressive fit and finish, with tight panel gaps and crisp lines. The interior is fully furnished and is covered in leather upholstery. It also brings to life the concept dream of cameras as side mirror replacements. The quality of this prototype has us hopeful the company will be able to follow through with its production plans, though we’ll maintain a healthy skepticism until we see it running and driving.

Aspark Owl

Speaking of which, the company aims to start selling the car in 2019. It will build Owls on a per-order basis. Buyers will have to be quite wealthy as well. Aspark expects to sell each Owl for 3.5 million euros, which comes to $4.16 million at current exchange rates. That’s a lot of money regardless, but especially when considering that a Bugatti Chiron costs just under $3 million, and the new Mercedes-AMG Project One will cost $2.54 million. Even the upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie is expected to cost about $3 million. Of course, none of those cars can claim full electric power.

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September 13, 2017 / Comments Off

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