NEVS, the electric car company born from the ashes of Saab more than a decade ago, has revealed the sophisticated model it was developing before its Chinese owners put it in “hibernation mode”.
The Emily GT is claimed to be capable of driving more than 1000km (621 miles) between charges, thanks to a huge 175kWh battery. Battery capacities of 140kWh and 105kWh were also planned, as was 11kW wireless charging via a pad connected to a fixed hub.
In-wheel motors making 121bhp are mounted at each corner, giving the Emily GT 484bhp in total. Each motor sandwiches a drive unit between the alloy wheel and the aluminium brake disc, reportedly giving finer control of torque vectoring. Such was the extent of the vectoring that the car could turn without using the steering wheel.
Emily programme director and former Saab engineer Peter Dahl told Swedish publication Carup: “The possibilities for torque vectoring are fantastic. All torque can be controlled. It’s like changing from straight slalom skis to carving skis.
"In addition, the wheel motors ensure that all backlash is eliminated, resulting in an incredibly direct and solid feeling.
“On the downside, the unsprung weight on each wheel is higher. We have solved that with a good chassis with air suspension and active dampers.”
A high-performance variant of the Emily was also in the pipeline, with planned outputs of 653bhp and 1623lb ft. This would cut its 0-62mph sprint time down from 4.6sec to 3.2sec.
The striking styling – which bears a strong resemblance to the final Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5 – is reported to have been penned by an unnamed Italian and refined by former Saab designers.
NEVS' owner, the Evergrande Group, originally signed off a run of 20 prototypes. However, Evergrande – which made its fortune as one of China’s most prolific property developers – hit financial problems in 2020, and only six were built.
Evergrande put NEVS into "hibernation" last month, having failed to secure a buyer. Of the Swedish firm’s 340 employees, 320 were laid off.
Polestar signed a lease for part of NEVS' Trollhättan factory, which was formerly home to Saab, according to a statement from the Swedish city. The Volvo spin-off will use the facility as an R&D base for its future EVs.
New NEVS CEO Nina Selander is now seeking a buyer for the Emily project and has encouraged interested parties to contact the company. “It's for sale. It's also a joy to be able to show it,” she told Carup.
Dahl added that the project is about a year and a half away from being production-ready. He said: “Everything is in place to take it further into production. The prototypes are completely drivable, except that the airbag and auto-braking systems are missing.”
The Emily prototypes use a 52kWh battery from the NEVS 9-3, an electric conversion of the Saab of the same name.
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