If you were born after World War II and haven’t studied the history of car brands in the United States, chances are you’ve never heard about an American automobile company called “Detroit Electric”, which was a subsidiary of the Anderson Electric Car Company based in Detroit, Michigan. As its name suggests, it produced electric cars and was active from 1907 through 1939.
Now, almost three-quarters of a century later, Detroit Electric is ready to enter the world stage again after Albert Lam, former Group CEO of the Lotus Engineering Group and Executive Director of Lotus Cars of England, revived the brand in 2008 “with a vision to produce an electric vehicle that seamlessly integrates refined aesthetics, innovative technology and superior handling and performance“.
After five years of research and engineering development, the company announced the establishment of its corporate headquarters on the 18th floor of the historic Fisher Building, located in downtown Detroit, and the release of its first electric model, which will be launched early next month in Detroit, ahead of a global public reveal at the Shanghai Motor Show on 20 April.
Detroit Electric also identified a dedicated production facility in Michigan with an annual capacity of 2,500 sports cars. It will begin manufacturing the as-of-yet unnamed electric sports car in August, which it says, “will spearhead a diverse family of all-electric production cars, including two other high-performance models that will enter production by end of 2014.”
While no other details have been released on the EV, the single teaser picture (yes, our first thought upon viewing the image was it could be a Corvette Stingray or SRT Viper-based model, too…) and Lam’s history with Lotus, suggests that the car might be based on one of the British firm’s models.
“We are proud to become the fourth car manufacturer born out of Detroit, and the first to manufacture a pure electric sports car from Michigan,” said the company’s CEO, Don Graunstadt. “We are committed to doing our part for this great revival of Detroit through innovation, entrepreneurship and determination – what we like to call ‘Detroit 2.0’. Our investors and management team are thankful to the State of Michigan for the help provided in allowing Detroit Electric to carry on the legacy that began in Michigan so many years ago.”
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