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1,306 views Nov 11, 2011

The Arcspeed electric roadster

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If Australian company Arcspeed has its way, you may soon have an open-top electric sportscar alternative to the Tesla Roadster. Designed by Ian Denner, who already has a successful business building Ferrari GTO and Shelby Cobra replicas, the Arcspeed could be on the market by the end of 2012.

The design of the Arcspeed roadster was penned back in 2006, and it was originally built to accommodate a Honda Integra Type R drivetrain. As Inside Line reports, supply issues ended the life of the gasoline-powered roadster before a single production car was built.

Arcspeed co-founders Keith White and Jaron Ware then got the idea to go green, and drop an electric drivetrain into the Arcspeed platform. Opting for the same electric motor used in the new Varley evR450, which is good for 385 lb.-ft. of torque, Arcspeed claims its roadster will sprint from zero to sixty miles per hour in under 3.8 seconds.

To keep the car’s center of gravity as low as possible, the lithium-ion-phosphate battery pack is mounted on the cockpit floor, and the drivetrain layout is rear motor, rear drive.

Arcspeed says it will build the roadster for both the Australian market and for export, although it’s far too early to tell is that export list includes the United States. The company’s goal is to bring the car to market for under $100,000, which would make it about 10 percent cheaper than Tesla’s base model Roadster.