British engineering firm Nyobolt first revealed its shiny show car back in 2023, where its sole purpose was to add some spice to an impressive but otherwise unsexy fast charging battery system.
Now, the company is moving its concept out of the lab and into the real world, as it announced a drive-able EV prototype last week that will not only help it test its rapid-charging battery system under real driving conditions but could also lay the foundations for a production model.
The small but visually arresting sports car is based heavily on the S1 Lotus Elise, with design input from the man behind the coveted lightweight machine, Julian Thomson.
But underneath the skin, Nyobolt has introduced its bespoke 35kWh battery that can be charged from 10% to 80% in just 4 minutes 37 seconds from a 350kWh outlet, according to its most recent data.
Granted, the Nyobolt EV’s battery pack is small and range will be limited but the Lotus Emeya recently hit the headlines for brimming its packs in an impressive 14 minutes.
To move the concept car onto something that can be driven (and maybe sold), Nyobolt teamed up with design agency Callum, responsible for the recent Skye election electric off-roader, to make a prototype for potential low-volume production.
There’s no official word on the number that will be bolted together, or which markets they are destined for, but Callum has global plans for its Skye, so it’s likely a similar case here if demand is strong enough.
Nyobolt’s director of vehicle battery systems, Shane Davies, said: "We can enable OEMs to build excitement back into the segment, which is literally weighed down by legacy battery currently.
"Our Nyobolt EV demonstrates the efficiency gains facilitated by our fast-charging, longer-life battery technology, enabling capacity to be right-sized while still delivering the required performance,” he added.
That’s really the sole purpose of a functioning pre-production car like this, as it has enabled the British engineering firm to carry out 4,000 full fast-charge cycles using its innovative battery set-up.
The company claims that, despite the huge amount of power being pumped into these packs at rapid speeds, the battery retained more than 80% of its useable capacity after the equivalent of 600,000 miles covered during testing.
More charging... but more fun
The Nyobolt EV is unlikely to ever enter any sort of mass production run, and will remain a rare beast that’s sold in very few numbers if it does go on sale soon.
But that’s beside the point, as it acts as a shapely shop window for the company’s battery technology, which Nyobolt claims has already caught the attention of a number of global electric vehicle makers.
So far, manufacturers and OEMs have been hyperaware of the range anxiety that has been preventing many from making the switch to EVs, so they have been cramming ever-larger battery packs into vehicles to ensure both performance and range. The downside is weight and a bloated, often disconnected driving experience.
Nyobolt’s tech could see a swing towards smaller and lighter battery packs being used, potentially ushering in a return to compact and fun sports cars that, while they may need to be charged more often, take less time in doing so and leave more time for tackling the twisties.
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