Chinese car startup Techrules makes its foray into the competitive car market by unveiling a super racing car powered by a microturbine system as its first model.
Techrules is following the same steps of Tesla, an American automaker, by creating an expensive low volume car, use the sales of the low volume car to develop a medium volume car at a lower price, then use the sales of the medium volume car to create an affordable high-volume car.
Jin Xinzhong, the president of Techrules, said: "The turbine, which is more often found in helicopters, charges a battery pack and the pack powers electric motors that drive wheels. It is able to get the pack 80 percent charged in 15 minutes and enables a car to run 2,000 kilometers on 80 liters of fuel, either aviation kerosene, diesel, gasoline, biogas or natural gas."
Last March at the 87th International Motor Show in Geneva, Techrules unveiled a "production-ready" version of their race car and showcased a variable platform that will be able to accommodate race cars, sedans, SUVs, and multipurpose vehicles.
According to Jin, the China Aerospace Science and Technology, a major contractor of the country's space program, played a part in the development of the car's powertrain system headed by his 100-member team.
Jin attributed the achievement to Jin Po, his 25-year-old son who is the current chief technology officer of the company. He then said: "Despite his youth, he has many talented ideas and plans, not even limited to cars."
Techrules finds encouragement from California-based carmaker Tesla. Jin Xinzhong said: "The company is optimistic about the market, though it has never been in the automotive sector before because Tesla's performance shows that society is more open than ever to new ideas."
"The company is ready to produce the car at its facility in Turin, Italy, and if there are any orders the first vehicle will roll out in 2018," said its engineering partner, L.M. Gianetti.