Nyobolt Concept EV Developed With CALLUM Needs Just Six Minutes for Each Charge

1 year, 5 months ago - 14 June 2023, autoevolution

Design and engineering company CALLUM, which counts on acclaimed British designer Ian Callum among its founding members, has worked with UK-based EV startup Nyobolt to develop and execute a (Lotus Elise-based) EV sports car unlike any other. And we are not saying that the final part is genuine because of its styling but rather its technology.

Admired for its prolific work with various automakers - especially Aston Martin and Jaguar (I-Pace, Vanquish, Vantage, DB9, F-Type, F-Pace, XJ, etc.) - Ian Callum branched out not long ago with CALLUM Designs to “focus on design, lifestyle, and travel, taking on projects that intrigue, excite and tell a story.” The firm is based in Warwick, UK, and brings together people with “experience across art, audio, automotive, fashion, and motorsport brands.”

Well, they didn’t include technology because they didn’t need to – that’s what partners are for. More precisely, we mean collaborations like the one they now have with Nyobolt, an EV startup founded by Dame Clare Grey and Dr. Sai Shivareddy Nyobolt to “unlock the potential of battery technology to power innovations that can’t wait.”

Speaking of being in a hurry, the two companies have revealed the fruits of their collaboration – an EV sports car that is touting “six-minute charge” times as its ultimate goal. Designed by another revered creator, Julian Thomson, and developed and executed by CALLUM and Nyobolt, this sports car has the starting point rooted in the well-known and lightweight Lotus Elise.

Envisioned by Thomson before GM snatched him as their Advanced Design Europe director, the CALLUM Nyobolt EV sits on relatively large 19-inch wheels and is also 100 mm (3.93 inches) wider and 150 mm (5.9 inches) longer than a Lotus Elise “while maintaining an aggressive attitude and hunkered stance that’s reminiscent of the original.”

The body was remastered in carbon fiber with “lightweight composite panels,” including for the removable roof section, and unique front and rear LED lamps further set it apart from the Elise. Additionally, the car signals it’s far and away from the original with custom HD ultra-low latency exterior cameras plus a Type 2 charging port tucked in the right-hand B pillar.

Nyobolt targets an EV industry solution for “charging, battery materials supply, and degradation” with its new battery powertrain that is allegedly “smaller, lighter, and faster to charge” to the point where the one-ton 35 kWh battery pack will fully charge in just six minutes with help from the existing charging infrastructure.

The company also said the tests were conducted for over 2,000 fast charging cycles without performance degradation, and the pack should give the CALLUM Nyobolt EV a range of up to 250 km (155 miles) between charges. In detail, the “ready-to-deploy technology” set to go into series production next year uses “a proven 10C (six-minute) charge lithium-ion technology that is capable of immediate application and rapid scale-up.” That’s cool, right?