The Vanwall Vandervell might be getting more attention than it deserves.
Yesterday, renderings of a green electric hatchback surfaced and the motoring media was abuzz with excitement. The ‘Vanwall Vandervell’ looks like a cross between a Hyundai IONIQ 5 and a Lancia Delta Integrale. It’s a 5-door with loads of carbon fibre parts, an F1-style third braking light, lots of cool looking aero parts and almost no ground clearance. But, what is it?
Condensed History Of Vanwall
Back in the 1950s, Vanwall was a motor racing team based in the UK that had some success with the late Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel. The team disappeared from the racing scene by the time the 1960s came around, so not many will recall the name. The Vanwall brand was relaunched recently by Dr. Colin Kolles, who led a consortium of investors to buy the Caterham F1 team not so long ago. It’s also worth noting that Dr. Colin Kolles himself has experience as a Managing Director and Team Principal of many F1 teams, though he’s not without some controversy.
There exists a Floyd Vanwall Racing Team and they’ve actually got a car ready for the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship under the new Hypercar class. They’ve even got a street-legal hypercar render that they’re teasing for sale, though nothing concrete has materialised yet. Now, they’re looking to hit a wider audience with an electric vehicle, the famous Vandervell S everyone seems to be talking about.
According to the company’s Instagram post, there will be two versions – the Vandervell S and Vandervell S Plus. The car comes with all-wheel drive as standard and has a total output of 320hp with an estimated 450 km of range. 0-100km/h is also estimated to take under 5 seconds. The Vandervell S Plus, on the other hand gets a 580 hp output and can do 0-100km/h in under 3.5 seconds, theorectically. Range on this model is supposedly 420km.
The thing is this: the car doesn’t exist – it’s a render. The brand only just got revived and doesn’t produce electric vehicles at all. Sure, they can get FoxConn to contract manufacture an EV for them, but the third issue is this: does ‘Vanwall’ have enough brand value to attract customers? We’ve seen many concept cars and renders from more reputable brands than this completely disappear before production even starts. It’s very pretty, but don’t get excited.
In my view, this whole render just feels like a publicity stunt to bring attention to the re-emergence of the Vanwall brand. I’m happy to be proven wrong.
