While automakers have gone all in on electric SUVs and trucks in recent years, 2021 has a crop of drool-worthy battery-powered and hybrid sports cars on the way.
Electric sports cars have been around for years with the first Tesla Roadster released more than a decade ago. But now there are more plug-in hybrid and 100-percent battery versions of the flashy cars offering more range and power. Many of this year’s new e-sports cars have bigger batteries, so they can last longer while in stealthy electric drive mode. Here are six new electric sports cars building out the expanding electric car market even further.
Karma GS-6
An electric boost in a sports car.
Image: karma
There’s a new sports car that you can plug in from California-based carmaker Karma with the GS-6. On Monday, the company announced new pricing for its redesigned (and renamed) Revero GT. Instead of a nearly $150,000 price tag, the GS-6 starts at $83,900.
The plug-in hybrid can run on the dual motors and 28-kWh battery for up to 80 miles. On Stealth mode, the car only uses the battery. But when combined with the gas-powered generator, the car can go up to 360 miles.
All-electric Karma GSe-6
A look under the Karma GSe-6 hood.
Image: karma
By the end of the year, Karma plans to offer an even cheaper version of the above sports car that only runs on electricity. The GSe-6 hasn’t been revealed yet, but it will rely 100 percent on electric power. It’s expected to have a range of over 300 miles and start at $79,900.
McLaren Artura
Not your everyday EV.
Image: mcLAREN
This isn’t your average hybrid. The McLaren Artura supercar was revealed this week as a $225,000 lightweight speed demon that can hit 205 miles per hour. It takes about 2 hours to recharge the 7.4-kWh battery and electric motor, which gives the hybrid 19 miles of electric range. McLaren has promised an all-electric version by 2025.
Tesla Roadster 2.0
Waiting on the Tesla Roadster.
Image: tesla
Tesla’s first electric car was the speedy Roadster back in 2008. It was produced until a 2012 hiatus as it prepared for an update. A second-generation version of the $200,000 car was expected this year, but now it’s looking like a 2022 arrival. Reservations are open on Tesla’s website.
But it might be worth the wait: Tesla is promising 620-mile range and 250 mph as the top speed.
Musk first teased the revamped supercar EV in 2017.
Porsche Taycan
The first electric Porsche.
Image: porsche
Porsche had offered the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid since 2011, but at the end of 2019 an all-electric sports car from the German automaker arrived for the first time in the Porsche Taycan. Later this year the base model will arrive in the U.S. for $79,900 with a 79.2 kWh battery. Porsche hasn’t announced this model’s range, but it’s expected to match other Taycan variations that have ranges of roughly 200 miles.
Polestar 1
End of the line.
Image: polestar
All good things must come to an end. 2021 will be the final production year for Polestar’s first car: the Polestar 1 hybrid sports car. The two electric motors and 34-kWh battery give the gas engine an extra 70 miles of pure electric mileage. Altogether the $156,000 hybrid goes 540 miles on a full tank and full charge.
But once the final plug-in sports mobile comes off the line, there’s already the more practical Polestar 2. Although not as sporty, the second vehicle is all-electric and arrived at the end of 2020 for a more modest $59,900 starting price.