Varley evR450: Australia Gets A Homegrown Electric Supercar

This is the evR450, Australia's first all-electric supercar. The car is new, but its creator, engineering outfit Varley, has been around for over 100 years.

Specialising in industrial machinery, Varley's move into the supercar market is a right-angle turn from its usual production of electric airport tugs and people-movers for the factory floor.

The evR450 was unveiled at October's Electric Vehicles Conference in Brisbane, and Varley says it will put the electrified supercar on sale in early 2012.

"You could expect seeing our (evR450) driving on Queensland roads as early as January 2012," John Bettini, Varley Electric Vehicles division manager said.

"We are proud of its technology based on Varley's long experience in electric vehicles and our close relationship with Tritium and Ultramotive, two other local technology companies".

The price? Below $200,000. Varley however isn't putting a figure on how many sales its expecting; Bettini says the group is happy to let "interest dictact volume".

For that money, you get a 0-100km/h time of 3.8 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 200km/h. It's not the quickest electric supercar around, but it's up there with the Tesla Roadster - and it's at least $40,000 cheaper.

Varley says the evR450 will give you a driving range of around 150km in standard trim; an extension pack can be added to boost range to 300km.