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Varley EVR450: Australia’s first electric supercar coming in 2012

Australia’s first locally designed and manufactured electric supercar will go on sale for less than $200,000 in January.


The Varley EVR450 has been developed in just nine months by Varley Electric Vehicles, the Brisbane-based division of the Varley Group, a 125-year-old privately owned Australian company.

Varley says the EVR450 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds – making it just one-tenth slower than the $206,188 Tesla Roadster – and will reach an electronically limited top speed of 200km/h.

Varley is yet to confirm the EVR450’s powertrain details, however we understand the supercar will be powered by two locally sourced Ultramotive electric motors, each producing 150kW and 522Nm, leading to a combined maximum output of 300kW of power and an almighty 1044Nm of torque.

Despite the awesome power, Varley says its lithium-ion battery-powered electric supercar will have a range of 150km that can be extended to 300km when optioned with the range-extension package.

Varley Electric Vehicles division manager John Bettini confirmed the Australian all-electric supercar would hit the road in less than three months.

"You could expect seeing our EVR450 driving on Queensland roads as early as January 2012" Mr Bettini said.

"We are proud of its technology based on Varley's long experience in electric vehicles and our close relationship with Tritium and Ultramotive, two other local technology companies".

Mr Bettini said Varley planned to produce just “a handful” of EVR450 supercars at its Brisbane factory, but warned it was anything but a “backyard engineering project”. He said the project was primarily intended to demonstrate the capabilities of the Australian-made motor and drivetrain technologies.

Mr Bettini admitted Varley had been caught off guard by the amount of interest in the EVR450 since its low-key unveiling at last month’s Australia Electric Vehicle Conference in Brisbane.

He said the limited production run was not completely accounted for yet, meaning you can still get your hands on Australia’s first electric supercar if you have the money and the inclination.

What do you think of the homegrown Varley EVR450? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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