Back in 2018, Roland Gumpert, the ex-Motorsport Director of Audi, revealed his revolutionary Nathalie – a supercar that combines the clean energy of electric vehicles and the convenience of fuel cells. Its performance numbers were impressive back then, but the production-spec Nathalie is now even better.
The Nathalie's greatest merit is its unconventional 2Way energy system. Propulsion comes from four motors, one on each wheel, which powered by a battery situated on the floor of the vehicle. However, recharging comes from in the form of a hybrid system through methanol fuel cells underneath the car's carbon bonnet.
Gallery: Production-spec Roland Gumpert Nathalie
Through the chemical reaction in the fuel cells, the batteries are charged with CO2 and a negligible percentage of nitrogen oxide as byproducts. The recharging process happens even when the car's idle, more so when accelerating and braking.
With this process, the Nathalie is completely self-charging and the lengthy recharging times of EVs are eliminated – reduced to just a three-minute re-"fuelling" of the methanol tank. Because of this, the Nathalie has an impressive range of 510 miles (821 kilometres) at an average speed of 75 miles per hour (121 kilometres per hour) or up to 745 mi (1,199 kilometres) on Eco mode.
EVs are getting faster by the year:
While these numbers, you might think that the Nathalie is just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill EV, but no. With 536 bhp (400 kilowatts) and 730 pound-feet (989 Newton-metres) of torque, the RG Nathalie can jump from standstill to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 2.5 seconds. Top speed? 190 mph or 306 kph.
The production of the RG Nathalie is limited to 500 units only, with a projected price of the First Edition at €407,000 without taxes – a little over £350,000, according to current exchange rates.
Source: Roland Gumpert