Can UK Startup Longbow Solve The Electric Sportscar Weight Problem?
A new British electric vehicle (EV) startup, Longbow, is aiming to carve a niche in the sports car market by prioritizing driving experience and leveraging existing UK supply chains – a strategy they believe will sidestep the pitfalls plaguing larger EV manufacturers. The company recently bolstered its expertise by adding three industry veterans to its advisory board: former McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt, ex-Alpine boss Michael van der Sande, and ex-Lotus chief Dan Balmer. “We have well over a century worth of British sports car experience with all of us now on the team,” a company representative stated.this influx of experience is intended to help Longbow avoid repeating mistakes made by others in the EV space.
Longbow’s approach centers on flexibility and avoiding massive capital expenditure on proprietary technology. Instead of building billion-dollar factories to manufacture components like motors, the company intends to source from the UK’s established and robust supply chain. “If we want more motors, we can look at multiple diffrent options based on our requirements.We don’t need to develop that tech. It would increase our cost,” explained Davey,a Longbow representative.”The UK has such an incredible supply chain, and billions were sunk into that. That’s not just EV,that’s other parts – brakes,panels,suspension,everything.”
The company is focusing on creating a vehicle that delivers a visceral driving experience, described as “theater” by Tapscott, another Longbow representative. This includes incorporating unexpected physical elements into the car’s interior, aiming to recapture the engagement lost in some modern EVs. “The driving experience should be any major car company’s real IP, especially in electrification. There will be sticks that you wouldn’t expect to see inside an electric vehicle appearing in our car, to give you a bit of a flavour.”
Longbow isn’t chasing record-breaking range or acceleration figures, recognizing the weight penalties associated with larger battery packs and more powerful motors. Their target specifications are a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 125 mph, and a range of 270 miles. “As soon as you do any more than that you need bigger motors, more inverters, more cooling. Then you’re playing the game that everyone else is currently losing money on and that doesn’t make any sense,” Davey said. The company is currently evaluating whether to utilize a 400V or 800V architecture, with 400V currently favored due to cost and supply chain considerations.
Longbow emphasizes authenticity and responding directly to consumer desires. “We’re authentic,” Tapscott stated. “We’re doing what people said they wanted.” The company is deliberately eschewing the pursuit of Nürburgring lap records, believing it would compromise their core ethos. “For us, a sports car is somthing that you drive it, you’re fully engaged, you’re forgetting about the rest of the world, and then you park up, and as you walk away, you want to turn around and look at it. That’s why we’ve we worked hard on how the car looks.”
Longbow plans to begin production at the end of 2026,with initial vehicles already in growth. “Start of production will be end of 2026,” Davey confirmed. “In between there will be several cars on the road. The first will be very soon. thes are not prototypes.” The vehicles pictured represent the final production design, and the company promises further announcements and a more detailed reveal early in the new year.”we are hellbent on starting production and moving towards getting cars on the road and in customers’ hands.”
