Although gasoline-powered classics will likely dominate the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance for decades to come, EVs are making inroads at the one of the nation’s most prestigious classic car shows.
Perhaps the most beautiful electric vehicle on display at the 2022 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – also know known as The Amelia – was a Hisano Suiza Carmen Boulogne. The Spanish EV supercar, complete with automatic vertical-opening doors, has a price tag of about $2 million, depending on the options a customer chooses.
Hispano Suiza Chief Technology Officer Juan Fernández told EV Rider at The Amelia it was inspired by the Spanish automaker’s heritage, specifically, its 1938 Xenia.
“If you see the shape of that car it was really aerodynamic and by that time it was really on top of the technology. Just so people can recognize this is Hisano Suiza, we follow that design, but this one is more aerodynamic.”
A production run of just 24 Carmen Boulogne’s is planned, with the first U.S. car delivered at The Amelia.
“We went to electric because it was the way to go now,” said Fernández.
The Carmen Boulogne has a claimed 0-60 mph time of under three seconds, according to fastlaps.com, with the two rear electric motors producing just over 1,000 brake horsepower. Fernández said it has an 80kW battery with a range of between about 185 and 400 miles per charge – depending on how its driven. CCS fast charging is included.
Hispano Suiza was originally founded in 1904 in Barcelona. Over the decades it eventually veered away from automotive production, moving into turbine manufacturing at one point.
Another automotive nameplate being revived as an EV is Hummer.
Last year, visitors to The Amelia were treated to the Hummer EV in prototype form. But now, they’re rolling off the assembly line and into garages.
When GM ended production of the original Hummers in 2010, they were known as gas-guzzling signs of excess.
According to the EPA, the new Hummers get the electric equivalent of 47 miles per gallon in combined driving. While that might sound like a good number and is certainly a big improvement over the old gasoline versions, the new Hummers are among the least efficient new EVs to enter production, weighing just over nine thousand pounds.
GMC bills the Hummer EV as the world’s first electric super truck.
The first Hummers to roll off the line cost more than $110,000 and come with 1,000 available horsepower in what’s known as the Watts-To-Freedom mode, or WTF for short.
Given the truck’s weight, it has a staggering fast 0-60 mph time of three seconds, according to GMC.
That matches Porsche’s Taycan Turbo EV sports sedan. Porsche also had a big EV presence at The Amelia this year.
Also on display was Porsche’s Taycan GTS Sport Turismo, which is actually a station wagon of sorts.
Sporting a shooting brake, fast-back wagon design, it’s a performance car with a dose of extra practicality and it’s one of the fastest charging EVs available.
The Turbo trim version has 670 horsepower and starts at just under $151,000.
BMW is also rolling out new EVs, including the iX M60, which is the brand’s first production EV done in conjunction with its M performance division.
The electric SUV can hit 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds with 610 horsepower.
Although EV Rider focuses primarily on EVs, no trip to The Amelia would be complete without a look at the classics on display. For a look at some of the finest cars throughout history that were on display watch the video at the top of this story.
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