The eyes of electric vehicle developers from the world's biggest car-makers will be all over the nanoFlowcell QUANT 48VOLT like a rash when the all-electric supercar makes its debut at the 2017 Geneva motor show in March.
The super-EV will deliver a driving range of more than 1000km per charge according to the Liechtenstein-based company. If true, that cruising range would not only blow every other current EV out of the water, including Tesla, but also many petrol, diesel and even hybrid cars.
A single photo of the supercar's rump has been revealed overnight and although the company has labelled it a 'prototype' it's understood the production version will look very similar.
Fuelled by "bi-ION" liquid fuel, the company reckons the electrolyte liquid would cost "substantially less than 10c per litre" if manufactured on an industrial scale.
And the price of the car? Your guess is as good as ours, but "expensive" is a likely estimate.
The company, which revealed the Quant F at the 2015 Geneva show, has been testing the QUANT E four-seat saloon since 2014 on public roads in Germany and also has plans to deploy the QUANTiNO mid-size sports car.
A QUANTiNO development car set a new record after driving for 14 hours straight at an average speed of 74km/h without refuelling! – a feat which will raise the eyebrows of hyper-milers everywhere.
EV supercar has positives and negatives
Developed by nanoFlowcell Holdings, the QUANT 48VOLT is claimed to achieve a 1000km-plus range by using four low-voltage electric motors, which combine for a total output of 560kW (760hp).
Flat-stick, the QUANT can streak to 100km/h in a claimed 2.4 seconds, meaning its faster than pretty much any other car you care to name -- exotic, EV or otherwise.
But nanoFlowcell Holdings says the real breakthrough is not straight-line performance but energy efficiency. Its impressive cruising range is achieved by using the bi-ION electrolyte fluid as fuel/energy, which is non-toxic and stable says the European start-up, so you just fill up a 'tank' like you would at a petrol station.
It's still not crystal clear how the nanoFlowcell technology extracts the energy that propels the cars four electric motors. There are two separate "nanofluid" fuel tanks, one with positive and the other with negative ionic liquid.
The bi-ION nanofluids contain "electrochemical energy", says the company, which can be released as electricity. It's possible the car uses a vanadium redox battery system, or possibly a zinc-bromine battery, both of which require electrolyte liquids to replenish energy.
In the QUANT 48VOLT supercar, six "cells" are arranged in series and the company says the technology is similar in effect to having a battery and fuel-cell combination.
The company is focussed on cars at present but has expansion plans to power heavy commercial vehicles such as trucks, trains, even aircraft, homes and infrastructure with its nanoFlowcell systems.