WIESMANN PROJECT THUNDERBALL
Autocar UK|June 08, 2022
TESTED 27.5.22, NICE, FRANCE ON SALE 2023 PRICE £255,000 (EST) | Known for retro-style sports cars powered by BMW Mengines, this German firm is now set on making a properly engaging EV
STEPHEN DOBIE
WIESMANN PROJECT THUNDERBALL

If Wiesmann gets its skates on, the end product of Project Thunderball will be a unique proposition: a fully electric roadster that’s focused on driving satisfaction more than outright performance.

The Teslarati will of course refer us quickly to the Roadster of 2008, but we’re looking at something different here. This is a ground-up development, not simply a motor and battery transplanted into an existing chassis.

Project Thunderball’s story began in 2019, when the wilfully retro German car maker started on Project Gecko – its first all-new model in more than a decade after several years of uncertainty over its future. Like the rest of Wiesmann’s back catalogue, it was going to be powered by an engine shipped in from BMW’s M division, until the company pondered offering an electric iteration, too.

The idea gathered pace and the resources of Wiesmann’s modest engineering team were quickly pointed in just one direction, as the possibility of bragging rights to the only electric roadster on sale dangled tantalisingly ahead. At least until Porsche launches its much cheaper plug-in Boxster…

“If we were 500 people and could do both ICE and EV at the same time, we would,” says Wiesmann marketing man Arne Kastner. “But as a very small but selective group, we had to make our priorities. It wasn’t easy to convince everybody we should focus on electric, but the more the project progressed, the more fascinating it got.

Denne historien er fra June 08, 2022-utgaven av Autocar UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 08, 2022-utgaven av Autocar UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA AUTOCAR UKSe alt
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024