Dyson had announced a bold digression from its vacuum-based products to electric cars back in 2016. Eventually, the company announced an end to the pursuit after spending around $500 million on the project. In an unseen twist, Dyson has now unveiled its abandoned electric car project and it looks like a vehicle worth all the ups and downs.
Codenamed ¡°N526,¡± Dyson¡¯s electric car looks like a futuristic version of a Range Rover. Meant to be a seven-seater with a 600-mile (965 km) range per charge, the EV can be seen as a work-of-art both in terms of its designs and the firepower it intended to carry.
Built out of aluminium, the 2.65 ton car promised an acceleration of 0 to 100 kmph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 200 kmph plus through its twin 200 kW electric motors. These numbers rank close to those claimed by the Tesla Model X, a definite contender had the Dyson electric car made it to the markets. The range, however, would have been almost double of the Model X.
The enormous range was also because of the company¡¯s proprietary solid-state batteries. Dyson worked extensively on having its own battery technology for the car, an effort that also led the tech major to acquire Michigan-based solid-state battery startup Sakti3 for $90 million.
Just as ambitious were the car¡¯s interiors, which featured slim seats with segmented cushions and lollipop-shaped headrests. For the driver, the dashboard was kept clean by utilizing a head-up display that ¡°floats in front of your face like a hologram.¡±
Dyson eventually decided to bring the production of the electric vehicle to Singapore. The next update then suggested that the company was not finding the project ¡°commercially viable¡±. With a glimpse of the intended electric car now provided to The Times by Dyson, it is easy to see why the project might just have been a bit too ambitious for fruition.