More is just not possible: With 1.5 megawatts, or 2040 hp, the Fulminea, a fully electric super sports car from the Italian manufacturer Automobili Estrema, which was founded in 2020. Actually “the” Fulminea, because cars are female in Italian and Fulminea means “lightning fast” (from fulmine = lightning). Company boss Gianfranco Pizzuto and managing director Roberto Olivo explained their plans at a digital press conference broadcast from the Turin Automobile Museum.
The two-seater announced for the second half of 2023 will cost 1,961,000 euros and will be built in exactly 61 units. This is his year of birth and his lucky number, explains Pizzuto. The highlight of the Fulminea is the innovative battery technology. It has a “hybrid” battery system with solid cells and so-called ultra capacitors. Despite a range of 520 kilometers in the WLTP cycle, the batteries should only weigh 300 kilograms.
In addition, the battery system should be “extremely safe” because – unlike the lithium-ion batteries used by other manufacturers – it is not flammable. Automobili Estrema wants to take the wind out of the sails of the growing doubts about the safety of electric cars.
How to open it remains a secret
In any case, the performance of the four-engine all-wheel drive is impressive: the sprint from 0 to 100 km / h is completed in around 2 seconds, and 320 km / h is reached in 10 seconds. And at around 350 km / h, the Fulminea should be electronically limited. According to managing director Olivo, they do not want to take part in a record hunt in terms of lap times or top speed. There are innovative elements for this, for example futuristic lighting elements or a hidden opening system, the function of which will only be known to the owner.
The Merano-based company wants to forego trade fairs and major events. Company boss Pizzuto has the confidence to sell 20 cars a year even without such expensive face-to-face events. The Fulminea was drawn by the designer Alexander Klatt, who once worked for the US manufacturer Fisker. Gianfranco Pizzuto was one of the company’s initial investors.
The Fulminea is also a figurehead for a battery “Gigafactory” – and should by no means remain the brand’s only model: “We love cars, and there will be another series,” announced Roberto Olivo.
ampnet / Jens Meiners