Renovo Unveils Electric Super Coupe

Mountain View, Calif.-based startup Renovo Motors Inc. plans next year to begin making 100 Shelby American-based electric supercars that can zoom from zero to 60 mph in less than 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of more than 120 mph.

The Renovo Coupe will have a list price of $529,000. The company presented a running prototype on Sunday at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. Initial sales will be in California and are expected to spread nationwide later this year.

Renovo was founded four years ago by two Silicon Valley men with no automotive experience but a proclaimed desire to create "the world's most exciting vehicles."

The 3,300-lb coupe's twin electric motors, which are mounted midship, deliver a combined 1,000 lb-ft of torque and more than 500 hp through a single gear, direct-drive transmission to the rear wheels. The company says the drivetrain reaches full power within 37 milliseconds.

Renovo says its car's three-module, 740-volt lithium-ion battery system can be quick-charged in 30 minutes; level 2 charging takes five hours. A regenerative braking system can be adjusted on the fly by the driver.

Stopping power for the Renovo Coupe comes from six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors in front and four-pot calipers and 13.4-inch rotors in back.