The Qiantu K50 Event! Looks Like A Bugatti Veyron, Drives Like A Tesla

Elon Musk showed conventional automakers the right way to sell electric cars by starting at the top of the market and working its way down. China’s CH-Auto wants to replicate the success of Tesla, and aims to begin down the same path with an all-electric super called the Qiantu K50 Event!, and yes, that name includes the exclamation point. No, I don’t know why.

The Wall St. Journal reports that CH-Auto is the brainchild of Lu Qun, who is big into electric cars and believes he can replicate Tesla’s path to success in China. CarNewsChina reports that the Event! uses a pair of electric motors to spin out 400 horsepower, while the 41.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack allows for a driving range of 250 km/150 miles. That’s less range than the Tesla Model S, but a 4.0 second 0 to 60 MPH time makes it faster than any other EV in China except the P85D. That’s all for the sportiest model though; a base version will be offered, presumably with either less range, performance, or both.

A 1685 kg/3,714 lbs curb weight means the Event! is much lighter than even the skinniest Tesla though, though it has room for just two passengers. Also it’s shape, while not unpleasant, is obviously borrowed from the Bugatti Veyron. It’s not exactly a clone per se, but there’s more than a passing resemblance to the famous hypercar.

I hope you’re not tired of Tesla comparisons yet, because the estimated $115,000 starting price is right in the same ballpark as the Model S in China. However, because the Event! will be built in China, it will qualify for all sorts of financial incentives that the Model S doesn’t yet get. CH-Auto isn’t the only one trying to do what Elon did though, as Fisker’s new owners Wanxiang Group want to build an electric car empire of their own.

With the world’s largest car market pushing hard for more electric vehicles, is there room at the table for all these ambitious electric automakers? Or can conventional car companies play catch-up quickly enough? Will the Event! gain traction with local customers, or will it be another also-ran that was better on paper than in production?

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Bugatti Veyron Successor To Use Electric Turbos, Go 288 MPH

The future of high performance vehicles is electrification, whether that means full-on plug-in hybrids like the Porsche 918 Spyder, or more subtle technologies like supercapacitors. While the jury is still out on just which path the Bugatti Veyron successor will take, Automobile Magazine says a pair of electric turbochargers could help push it past 1,500 horsepower.

Likely to be called the Bugatti Chiron, engineers have decided to focus on shedding weight versus designing an entirely new drivetrain. That means the fuel-gulping 8.0 liter W16 quad-turbo engine is going to carryover from the Veyron, but not entirely unchanged. A pair of electronic turbochargers will replace two of the conventional turbos, pumping up low-end power in particular and, along with direct injection and an increase in boost, will bring the horsepower level from 1,200 to around 1,500 galloping ponies.

Bugatti’s parent company Volkswagen has made electric turbos a priority on their next-gen engines, with Audi leading the way in adoption of this new technology. Rather than running off of the engine’s exhaust gases, electric turbos spool instantaneously, eliminating entirely the concept of turbo lag. This will also let Bugatti engineers add much larger standard turbochargers to the 8.0 liter engine, which could bring top speed to 288 MPH, tantalizingly close to that 300 MPH milestone.

Another factor in the highest speed will be a lower weight, with some 92% of the Veyron’s parts redesigned for extra structural rigidity and less weight. Cabron fiber will play an increasingly large role in keeping the pounds off, with power sent to all four wheels through a new seven-speed DSG transmission, which will be beefed up to handle the estimated 1,100 lb-ft of torque.

None of this is set in stone though, and there’s still the chance the next Bugatti could go down the hybrid route. Believe it or not, 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Veyron, and with its successor scheduled for 2016 at the soonest, there’s still time to embrace plug-in performance. Rivals like the Tesla Model S P85D and Rimac Concept_One may not match the Veyron in top speed, but in terms of raw acceleration these electric supercars can stand shoulder to shoulder to the legendary Bugatti.

Electric turbos are a baby step in the right direction, but if Volkswagen truly wants to plug into the future, the next Bugatti should be a hybrid at the very least.

2016 Bugatti Veyron Could Be A Hybrid

No car better represents automotive excess than the Bugatti Veyron (not shown, above – that’s the prototype ID90), with its 8.0 liter V16 quad-turbocharged engine belting out as much as 987 horsepower and dashing from 0 to 60 MPH in just 2.6 seconds. It can suck down all 26 gallons of fuel in just 12 minutes at top speed, topping out somewhere north of 260 MPH. But Reuters reports that the successor to the Bugatti Veyron could go in a different direction; hybrid.

That isn’t to say the V16 engine is dead. More likely, the 1,000 horsepower mill will be aided by a 500 horsepower hybrid system, which could bring total output into the 1,500 horsepower neighborhood. That means the 2016 Bugatti hybrid could pack as much as 50% more power than the outgoing Veyron, which is expected to meet its 450 unit limit in the next year or so. Beyond those few details though, don’t expect a new Bugatti hypercar for a while yet, as the German-owned French automaker still seems undecided on their new direction.

Hybrid is a great choice for the 2016 Bugatti (2017?, 2018?), no doubt, as there are a growing number of hybrid hypercars such as the 963 horsepower LaFerrari and 887 horsepower Porsche 918 Spyder edging in on Bugatti’s dominance. If Bugatti really wanted to blow some minds though, it would be a no-expense-spared all-electric hypercar with at least 200 miles of driving range and mind-blowing levels of torque. With Tesla opening its Supercharger patents to other automakers, Bugatti could just plug it into an existing charging network. Then again, that might be too drastic of a change for would-be buyers who are expecting an earth-shattering roar every time they stomp the pedal.

Somebody is going to do it eventually though, and if Bugatti wants to stay on top, they might have to do something drastic.