O n May 11 2020, the crypto world experienced the phenomena knows as Bitcoin halving . For those who are still a little looney-toons regarding this phenomena, here's the lowdown . Moral of the story is that, as the Bitcoin supply decreased and it's 21 million market cap slowly approached, it was widely accepted that the low supply and high demand will increase the price of the cryptocurrency back to its previous highs. Basic business right? Wrong! Source: Equity Trust Company BTC prices actually fell and after briefly holding steady, are only just rising above the 10000 USD range. Surprise eh? Well, we are not done yet. Because while the most valuable crypto coin wasn't showing it's expected gains, some other cryptocurrencies shot to outer space. There was no SpaceX rocket nor a Tesla Roadster involved. These "altcoins" bumped up in their market value thanks to the entire underlying system of cryptocurrency: investor speculation. But what exactly are these &q
I always wonder what Alessandro Volta said when he built the world's first battery. Probably 'Eeeks' when he connected his cell and made a dead frog belly dance. Back then a friend Luigi Galvani was dissecting his frogs only to make them twitch when his iron scalpel touched the frog ( which was in turn connected to a brass hook). Like in the movie 'Cars' Luigi got it wrong. And the rest is a very messy short-circuited electrolyte filled history of chemical power.
Still, it shows how far we have come. Since Volta's 'pancakes' the human brain has conceived brilliant, fast, even rechargeable batteries. But could both Luigi and Alessandro have remotely imagined that their chance discoveries could lead to an automotive revolution? After all " Luigi only like the Ferrari's" and before this generation Ferrari was probably the prime connoisseur of petrol power. It would have been considered a heavily Italian accented 'No!'.
But the LaFerrari ( a quite dumbly named car...imagining your child "The Child") was Ferrari's first hybrid car. Not an EV but it did have electric power singing with the throaty V12. And now even Lambo says their Aventador SVJ will be their last fully conventionally driven Bull.
Say what you want, the first car to bring the EV game to the fore was Tesla. Their megalomaniac Roadster had bonkers acceleration in a British derived chassis. And it was as silent as Batman. But the party trick was that being fully battery-powered there was absolutely no CO2 emission. Which is kinda a big deal unless you believe global warming is an elaborate hoax.
In a world where fossil fuels are running out only second to Virgil Abloh's next Off-White sneakers, electricity is seen as a saviour. That is why even the established BIG BOYS like Mercedes, Volkswagen ( and its filthy high number of subsidiaries), and Toyota among others, are putting their sticky fingers into the Winnie the Pooh's honey jar. Millennials love electric cars, as it makes them feel they are like Arnie in this pic..
And while that maybe not good for solely electric manufacturer's like Tesla or Rimac or Faraday Future, its great news for the consumers. More cars means more options. Obviously. And with big names investing billions into electric infrastructure, we consumers can decrease our worries of frantically searching for charging stations ( at least in the foreseeable future). And there are bound to be numerous trickle-down benefits for the general masses. While the Chevy's Bolt or Hyundai's Ioniq or Nissan's Leaf are all good cars, this article is solely looking at the latest and greatest.
1. Audi E-Tron
Volkswagen is really having another party here. Three out of the 5 here are directly or indirectly connected to the Volkswagen A.G. group. Wonder what made them invest so much in electric power? Hmm.
Jokes aside Audi's new electric SUV simply called 'E-Tron' is Audi's first shot at Tesla and um any other existing rival. Filled with Audi's latest and greatest tech and with a baby-blue launch colourway it looks a bit disappointing in flesh. It looks like an Audi Q8 which in turn looks like a bigger Q7, which in turn looks like a Q5 and etc. Audi should have invested more in the design. Don't get me wrong it looks good, but I expected better from Germans. With a 95 kW/h battery pack, the claimed range is a healthy 250 miles. And when you push it into 'Boost' mode it increases peak horsepower from 365 hp to 410 hp and 0-60 mph is completed in a surprisingly quick 5.7s.
2. Mercedes-Benz EQC
Another German marque decided its US 12 billion attack on Tesla would begin with a, um, SUV. Truly why an SUV I would never understand. Probably due to economic fuss of supply and demand. SUV's are some of the top-selling models of most car companies. One thing Merc has nailed with the EQC is the design. I mean it's not game-changing or revolutionary, but in my opinion, looks better than Audi's attempt. Audi, however, has the upper hand in the all-important range category as Merc has only claimed a 280-mile range. We reckon it's lower than Audi's 250 as Mercedes uses the flawed NEDC standard. Inside is properly filled with all the tech Mercedes could possibly have and the stratospheric comfort standards.
3. Porsche Taycan
Yet to be officially launched to the adoring public, the Taycan is Porsche's first foray into all-electric hullabaloo. And so far the car looks gorgeous. If the spy shots and leaks are anything to go buy, this Panamera-esque coupe will have over 600 HP with claimed 310-mile range, much further than any existing Tesla. And it looks much much better than a Panamera. In fact, it looks like what a Panamera should have been in the first place. It will no doubt have loads of tech and the signature black magic of Porsche's handling. You can even read a review of it (not exactly the car but a similar car) on Top Gear. So far so good.
4. Aston Martin Rapide E
The British marquee is been having something of a renaissance lately after old and bad models gave way to the stunning DB11's, Vantage's and the yet to come to Valkyrie. But Aston have also got their electric game going as they are about to unveil their Rapide E, their first fully electric car, to the ones who can afford it. Aston has only shown us teaser images but we reckon it will have some semblance to the Rapide's of yesteryears accentuated by Aston's new design language. Only 155 of this 800-volt system of luxury moving objects will be made. Expect 600 + horsepower and Aston like price tag. Obviously.
5. Rimac C-Two
When Rimac first announced their Concept One at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, people thought they were bonkers. How could a bunch of Croats build a supercar, much less one that is fully electric, to challenge the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Koenigsegg, Bugatti etc? Now, 7 years later their first car is still as futuristic and super fast as it was 7 years ago. It could probably beat the likes of LaFerrari's, P1's or any other hypercars in a drag race. And that was the model which was built 7 years ago!!. This year, at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, they unveiled their second electric beast, the Rimac C-Two standing for Concept Two. 0-60 in 1.85s. Top speed of 258 mph, and an astounding 400-mile range ( NEDC claimed). With loads of leather, a remarkable interior is further accentuated by the car's claimed Level 4 autonomous driving ability. And the car unlocks using facial recognition. What fun.
Still, it shows how far we have come. Since Volta's 'pancakes' the human brain has conceived brilliant, fast, even rechargeable batteries. But could both Luigi and Alessandro have remotely imagined that their chance discoveries could lead to an automotive revolution? After all " Luigi only like the Ferrari's" and before this generation Ferrari was probably the prime connoisseur of petrol power. It would have been considered a heavily Italian accented 'No!'.
But the LaFerrari ( a quite dumbly named car...imagining your child "The Child") was Ferrari's first hybrid car. Not an EV but it did have electric power singing with the throaty V12. And now even Lambo says their Aventador SVJ will be their last fully conventionally driven Bull.
Say what you want, the first car to bring the EV game to the fore was Tesla. Their megalomaniac Roadster had bonkers acceleration in a British derived chassis. And it was as silent as Batman. But the party trick was that being fully battery-powered there was absolutely no CO2 emission. Which is kinda a big deal unless you believe global warming is an elaborate hoax.
In a world where fossil fuels are running out only second to Virgil Abloh's next Off-White sneakers, electricity is seen as a saviour. That is why even the established BIG BOYS like Mercedes, Volkswagen ( and its filthy high number of subsidiaries), and Toyota among others, are putting their sticky fingers into the Winnie the Pooh's honey jar. Millennials love electric cars, as it makes them feel they are like Arnie in this pic..
And while that maybe not good for solely electric manufacturer's like Tesla or Rimac or Faraday Future, its great news for the consumers. More cars means more options. Obviously. And with big names investing billions into electric infrastructure, we consumers can decrease our worries of frantically searching for charging stations ( at least in the foreseeable future). And there are bound to be numerous trickle-down benefits for the general masses. While the Chevy's Bolt or Hyundai's Ioniq or Nissan's Leaf are all good cars, this article is solely looking at the latest and greatest.
1. Audi E-Tron
Volkswagen is really having another party here. Three out of the 5 here are directly or indirectly connected to the Volkswagen A.G. group. Wonder what made them invest so much in electric power? Hmm.
Jokes aside Audi's new electric SUV simply called 'E-Tron' is Audi's first shot at Tesla and um any other existing rival. Filled with Audi's latest and greatest tech and with a baby-blue launch colourway it looks a bit disappointing in flesh. It looks like an Audi Q8 which in turn looks like a bigger Q7, which in turn looks like a Q5 and etc. Audi should have invested more in the design. Don't get me wrong it looks good, but I expected better from Germans. With a 95 kW/h battery pack, the claimed range is a healthy 250 miles. And when you push it into 'Boost' mode it increases peak horsepower from 365 hp to 410 hp and 0-60 mph is completed in a surprisingly quick 5.7s.
2. Mercedes-Benz EQC
Another German marque decided its US 12 billion attack on Tesla would begin with a, um, SUV. Truly why an SUV I would never understand. Probably due to economic fuss of supply and demand. SUV's are some of the top-selling models of most car companies. One thing Merc has nailed with the EQC is the design. I mean it's not game-changing or revolutionary, but in my opinion, looks better than Audi's attempt. Audi, however, has the upper hand in the all-important range category as Merc has only claimed a 280-mile range. We reckon it's lower than Audi's 250 as Mercedes uses the flawed NEDC standard. Inside is properly filled with all the tech Mercedes could possibly have and the stratospheric comfort standards.
3. Porsche Taycan
Yet to be officially launched to the adoring public, the Taycan is Porsche's first foray into all-electric hullabaloo. And so far the car looks gorgeous. If the spy shots and leaks are anything to go buy, this Panamera-esque coupe will have over 600 HP with claimed 310-mile range, much further than any existing Tesla. And it looks much much better than a Panamera. In fact, it looks like what a Panamera should have been in the first place. It will no doubt have loads of tech and the signature black magic of Porsche's handling. You can even read a review of it (not exactly the car but a similar car) on Top Gear. So far so good.
4. Aston Martin Rapide E
The British marquee is been having something of a renaissance lately after old and bad models gave way to the stunning DB11's, Vantage's and the yet to come to Valkyrie. But Aston have also got their electric game going as they are about to unveil their Rapide E, their first fully electric car, to the ones who can afford it. Aston has only shown us teaser images but we reckon it will have some semblance to the Rapide's of yesteryears accentuated by Aston's new design language. Only 155 of this 800-volt system of luxury moving objects will be made. Expect 600 + horsepower and Aston like price tag. Obviously.
5. Rimac C-Two
When Rimac first announced their Concept One at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, people thought they were bonkers. How could a bunch of Croats build a supercar, much less one that is fully electric, to challenge the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Koenigsegg, Bugatti etc? Now, 7 years later their first car is still as futuristic and super fast as it was 7 years ago. It could probably beat the likes of LaFerrari's, P1's or any other hypercars in a drag race. And that was the model which was built 7 years ago!!. This year, at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, they unveiled their second electric beast, the Rimac C-Two standing for Concept Two. 0-60 in 1.85s. Top speed of 258 mph, and an astounding 400-mile range ( NEDC claimed). With loads of leather, a remarkable interior is further accentuated by the car's claimed Level 4 autonomous driving ability. And the car unlocks using facial recognition. What fun.
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