A New Player in the Electric Sports Car Market
Electric sports cars are finally becoming a reality, but Europe may not have to wait for Porsche or Alpine to set the tone. A small Chinese brand you’ve probably never heard of wants to join this race, and its offering looks much more serious for enthusiasts than the MG Cyberster.
The Chinese sports car looks as if a Tesla Roadster met a Lancia.
This is about the SC-01 — a lightweight electric sports coupe that is not only heading to Europe, as confirmed by the company itself, but also, according to Chinese media, plans to be produced there. With the support of Xiaomi and the JMEV (Jiangling) brand, about a thousand of these compact two-seaters are expected to be manufactured in Italy.
Design and Dimensions
Visually, the SC-01 pays full homage to classic wedge shapes. Its proportions are reminiscent of a Lancia Stratos, filtered through the prism of a modern electric vehicle, with compact dimensions and a true sports stance.
With a length of 4106 mm, it is slightly shorter than the Alpine A110 and about 270 mm more compact than the recently discontinued ICE-powered Porsche 718 Cayman. However, the real sensation is its weight.
Lightweight Construction
The aluminum SC-01 weighs 1365 kg, which is exceptionally light for an electric car — 520 kg lighter than the rear-wheel-drive MG Cyberster and 620 kg lighter than the all-wheel-drive MG version. The Cyberster always felt more like a miniature Mercedes SL than a true sports car, and these figures, along with the SC-01’s pushrod suspension front and rear, only emphasize that impression.
A social media post from SC01 EUROPE (@sc01.eu).
Performance and Range
Power is provided by two electric motors with a combined output of 429 hp, allowing the SC-01 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in a claimed 2.9 seconds. The 60 kWh battery provides a claimed range of 500 km under the optimistic CLTC cycle, so a more realistic expectation is around 435 km by the WLTP standard, and even less if driven as a true sports car should be.
Minimalist Interior
The SC-01’s interior may be even more surprising. There is no massive touchscreen panel one might expect from a modern Chinese EV. Instead, you are faced only with a driver’s display and physical climate controls. In other words, it feels like a car built for people who actually enjoy driving and plan to drive so spiritedly that they won’t waste precious moments searching for a function on a digital display.
Expected Price
Exact European prices and the sales start date have not yet been announced, but according to Car News China, the car could start at around 500,000 yuan, which is about 61,000 euros. This is significantly higher than its domestic Chinese price of 229,800 yuan (approximately 28,500 euros at the current exchange rate).
Nevertheless, this would give it a competitive edge over the new generation of electric sports cars from Porsche, Alpine, and Lotus, some of which are still years away from development and will undoubtedly cost more.
The arrival of the SC-01 on the European market could be an interesting test for global automakers. The company is betting not on technological overkill, but on pure driving sensations, lightness, and classic-inspired design — a rare combination for modern electric vehicles. The success of this project will depend not only on the final price and build quality in Italy, but also on whether the brand can convince European buyers of its seriousness and longevity. If they succeed, they could open a new niche for affordable yet genuine electric sports cars while the industry giants prepare their responses.