In search of electric supercars, engineers head to start-ups

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Rene-Christopher Wollmann, head of Mercedes-AMG's One One program worth 2.75 million euros, has just taken a job at Automobili Pininfarina, a sign that innovation in electric sports cars range is turning into small businesses.

Wollman's decision, which has not been made public, comes at a time when major automakers, such as Volkswagen and Mercedes, have been blinded by tighter and more expensive emission tests, forcing them to focus their resources on consumer electric models and cleaning their combustion engines.

At the same time, advances in virtual engineering are enabling even small engineering teams to develop working vehicles using design, engineering and prototype testing software. This dynamic has already enabled Tesla and the Chinese company Nio to take on much larger competitors in the high-end electric sports car segment.

"Big companies take a long time to transform. And I'm good at hypercars. I just did the Project One, and now this opportunity was coming up, "Wollmann, 37, told Reuters why he joined Automobili Pininfarina, a Munich-based electric car manufacturer launched last year.

The Project One, which includes a modified Formula 1 engine, was to go on sale this year but was delayed by problems obtaining certification of the traffic state following the introduction. WLTP emission control standards, according to sources familiar with the issue.

High-end or high-performance electric sports cars are equivalent to Ferrari and Lamborghini in the world of classic cars. These so-called supercars can cost between $ 100,000 and a few million dollars and include the upcoming Tesla Roadster Founder Series, which will sell for more than $ 200,000, and the concept Rimac Concept Two, priced around $ 2 million. of dollars.

The emerging role of start-ups in the development of the high-end electricity market dates back to a time when talented engineers such as Gottlieb Daimler and Ferdinand Porsche were able to launch sports car brands with a modest budget.

Among the main players are Automobili Pininfarina, Croatian Rimac, Chinese Nio and the Italian engineering store Maniffatura Automobili Torino (MAT), Italy.

But because of the high initial investments needed, with no guarantee of success in a niche market, boutique supercars manufacturers face significant risks if they try to develop more than one vehicle or orient themselves to become classic car manufacturers.

400 KM / HOUR

Wollmann was hired because he also participated in the development of an electric version of the AMG SLS for AMG Mercedes, a skill that will help Automobili Pininfarina, owned by the Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, to design its own zero-rated vehicle program.

"I created the first electric hypercar vehicle for AMG, so that was the ideal solution," he said.

Since its launch in 2018, Automobili Pininfarina has engaged a group of leading German engineers. Christian Jung, chief engineer of E-Mobility systems at Porsche, and Peter Tutzer, former technical director of the supercar brand Bugatti, are part of the team.

They design the "Battista", an electric supercar with a top speed of at least 300 km / h and an acceleration from 0 to 100 in less than two seconds. About 150 will be built, costing 2 million pounds each, the company said.

"Rene Wollmann came to see us because he had said that it was difficult to carry out such projects in a large company," Michael Perschke, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, told Reuters.

Another start-up electric car manufacturer, Rimac, will supply Battista's electric motor and battery.

Rimac has developed expertise in the transmission and battery systems of high performance electric vehicles. It already has 500 developers in Croatia and has manufactured an electric sports car capable of running at a speed of 400 km / hour.

His expertise led Porsche to take a 10% stake in the automaker last year.

"Powertrains with a capacity of 700 kilowatts are a niche product. Porsche focuses on large volumes. They do not have the capacity to handle all niche markets, "said 31-year-old founder Mate Rimac.

"NOT ALL IN"

There are two ways to make battery powered vehicles: use a white sheet design such as Tesla or use a conventional vehicle platform that can also accommodate an electric version.

For the moment, Daimler and VW have adopted the latter approach by building electric cars on the same assembly line as their conventional vehicles, which allows them to increase their production without having to build factories dedicated to the manufacture of electric cars. .

VW has, however, begun to develop a fully dedicated electric car, the ID, which is expected to arrive in the showrooms next year.

Daimler engineers believe that the trend towards multi-powertrain platforms will likely continue with battery technology improvements that allow even multi-propeller designs to generate electric cars with more than 400 km of range.

Detractors, however, believe that cars with combustion engines have less space for large batteries, resulting in vehicles of compromised design offering a shorter operating range than cars designed as electric cars.

"Eight years later, Tesla still has the best car than the Audi E-Tron or the Mercedes EQC," said Rimac. "It's not because the Germans are stupid. This is because they are not "all-in". They work from the base of the combustion engine to the electrification. I started only electricity.

Start-up automakers are better able to compete with larger established players thanks to advances in virtual engineering and the prevalence of consulting firms specializing in software and computer systems, such as Germany's Ferchau Engineering and Italian Danisi Engineering.

Automobili Pininfarina is virtually testing the effectiveness of its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), with the aid of a driving simulator program provided by Danisi, based in Modena, reducing considerably development and adjustment costs.

"You realize 80% of chassis development and reduce development time from six to eight months. The rest is validation and tuning, "said Paolo Dellacha, Product Manager for Automobili Pininfarina.

Prior to joining the automaker at startup, Dellacha held various engineering and test positions at Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.

At the same time, Daimler's first AMG project, launched in September 2017, with a horsepower of 1,000 horsepower and a top speed exceeding 350 km / h, will not reach customers before the start. next year.

"We have to sort out some details with the vehicles," said AMG spokesperson Jochen Uebler, about certification issues.