J-TURN

As the world pivots towards EV, Japan is busy figuring out how to keep its icons alive and kicking. We gather the concepts and assess their chances...

- TOM FORD

The electric revolution is a scary place to be if you're a carmaker. Performance metrics have basically been crumpled up and chucked in the bin, ideas of refinement suddenly uprated to the point where some cars make you feel like you've gone very slightly deaf. Previous bars superseded not by margins, but miles. But there's one place where electricity hasn't quite nailed it yet: the art and soul of performance.

Why? Because to people who like driving, 'performance' has turned out to be a much more nuanced argument than any set of statistics can provide. Being fast isn't the argument ender that it once was.

Of course, change is normal and rarely without issues, the process of evolution uncomfortable and sticky. Cars and technology are not a static thing - if they were, we'd still be hand cranking grease nipples on a Model T, repairing leather drive belts and burning ourselves with pilot flames.

But the fact remains that while electric motivation is largely excellent at specific tasks, it's not a magic bullet. And this is a problem that we must address. If electric is going to democratise pure speed, then performance EVs are going to have to quantify what else makes a good sports car.

And that question has many different answers. The truth is, human nature likes a quirk, identifies with imperfection. Just ask any Alfa enthusiast. The glossy effectiveness of electric drivetrains just seems too perfect somehow, too emotionally smooth, too cold, too slick.

It's Al-generated beauty, too symmetrical to fall in love with. Effective yes, but not satisfying. But car manufacturers have noticed. And they're doing something about it - they know that enthusiasm for the product drives sales, and that exciting sports models are the headlines of their corporate story. An electric SUV can only take you so far.