Electric

This 600bhp+ EV is taking AIM at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Japanese newcomer to the EV scene set to showcase advanced motor tech and RWD dynamics

Cat DowPublished: 05 Jul 2023  External link to Top Gear Magazine Subscription – 5 issues for £5Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading1 / 4

Japanese tech company AIM is bringing its EV Sport 01 to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The brand’s first concept car was launched in April, but this is the first time we’ll see the 01 in action. It makes its European premiere to showcase AIM’s advanced electric motor. 

As part of the First Glance category at Goodwood, the two-seater sports coupe will debut with a dual-motor, rear-wheel-drive configuration of its APM200 high performance electric motor. AIM claims the 01 has over 600bhp, promising it’ll be ‘fast and fun to drive’. 

We’re also told the EV Sport 01 has an advanced torque vectoring system and maximum 546lb ft torque. And it’s powered by a large 81kWh battery.

You might think it’ll be a proper heavyweight with all of that on board, but we’re told that it’s a carbon fibre dream, weighing less than 1,500kg. It’s also pretty compact – under four metres long, shy of two metres wide and only 1.2m tall.  

The AIM EV Sport 01 has been designed by SN Design Platform, led by Shiro Nakamura. That’s the same Nakamura responsible for icons like the Nissan Cube, Nissan Leaf and Nissan GT-R.

Yukinori Suzuki, AIM CEO, selected himself to take on the challenge of the Goodwood circuit – because er, that’s what you get to do when you’re the bossman. He said: “The vision for the AIM EV Sport 01 was fast, and enjoyable to drive, while the mainstream trend for EVs is AWD, the character of this car called for a RWD configuration. 

“Having created our own series of advanced electric motors, the AIM EV Sport 01 is also the perfect way to showcase our expertise in advanced powertrain development. I am really excited to be personally driving the car up the hill at Goodwood this year!”

Designer Nakamura said: “We learned from the spirit of the great sports cars of the past, helped by the RWD configuration and layout. I wanted to express dynamism with sophisticated elegance through a simple, clean design.

“The EV Sport 01 has minimal form language and avoids exaggerated and complicated surfaces, reminiscent of the great European and Japanese sports cars of the 1960s. Given that inspiration, it is particularly fitting we can demonstrate our car at Goodwood.”

We’re told that the 01 is currently undergoing testing and evaluation, with a hopeful limited production run in the near future. 
 

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