Back in 2015, BBC published an article on an electric supercar that would come from Sri Lanka. Produced by Vega Innovations, it would be called Vega and have 900 hp. It would also have a prototype quickly, but the company only presented it very recently, with quite some changes to what it previously promised. Anyway, we will be able to see it at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. With a new name and more down to Earth specifications.
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Instead of 900 hp, the Vega EVX will offer 300 kW – or 402 hp. It will have two motors to be an all-wheel-drive vehicle. We are just not sure about torque. If each motor produces 150 kW, as the company states in its website, are the 720 Nm also for each motor or the total available? That would already make it have a very respectable 531 lb-ft, but we suspect it may have twice as much.
The company promises a 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds. In this 2017 video, without the final body, the car managed to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.15 s.
Vega Innovations is still linked to CodeGen, a software company that promised the EVX to have very sophisticated algorithms to control its dynamics. The prototype that will be presented in Geneva probably has kept that aspiration, but we cannot tell for sure.
The Sri Lankan carmaker also claimed it would present innovations in packaging, safety, battery management, system hardware, firmware, and software regarding the lithium battery modules. Still, they offer an arrangement that the Chevrolet Volt unveiled back in 2010, in the shape of a T. Most designs currently place the battery on the floor pan, to lower the center of mass.
Another intriguing characteristic of the battery pack is that it is composed of LiFePo4 cells – lithium iron phosphate. These cells have an energy density of 220 Wh/l. In total, it will have 500V and 600A. The company mentions it will be useful for a 240 km range, but fails to say how many kWh this pack will provide. The reassuring part is that it will be liquid-cooled.
We have tried to contact the company after more details on the car, but we’ll likely have to wait for the 2020 Geneva Motor Show to know all about it. Considering the only local carmaker – called Micro Cars – exports most of what it produces, that is probably the goal for the Vega EVX as well.
The difference between Micro Cars and Vega is that Micro produces cars under license from other companies, such as Ssangyong and Geely. Vega has an original design. We hope it to arrive with inviting prices and that it can be homologated in most countries. If Turkey plans on having that with TOGG, why can’t Sri Lanka follow the EV path to have its own carmaker?