AIM EV Sport 01 concept to make dynamic debut at Goodwood FOS

With the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs), younger companies aim to make their mark with something innovative. One of these is AIM Company Limited, based in Nagoya, Japan which was founded in 1998 as an engineering company specializing in automotive design and technology.

Experience in Le Mans race
AIM has expertise in developing powertrains – with combustion engines and battery electric – and has even been involved in motorsport with its 5.5-litre V10 engine used by Team Oreca Matmut AIM in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car finished 4th overall and was also the highest placed among petrol engine models.

Increasing its focus on electrified powertrains, AIM has developed a high performance electric motor which is undergoing testing and evaluation. The APM200 powertrain is installed in the EV Sport 01, the company’s first vehicle.

Feasibility study for production
Although the EV Sport 01 was developed as a concept to showcase the capabilities of the company, early reaction to the car following its display in public in April gave encouragement to develop a feasibility study for a limited series production run.

“The vision for the AIM EV Sport 01 was fast, and enjoyable to drive; while the mainstream trend for EVs is AWD, the character of this car called for a RWD configuration. Having created our own series of advanced electric motors, the AIM EV Sport 01 is also the perfect way to showcase our expertise in advanced powertrain development. I am really excited to be personally driving the car up the hill at Goodwood this year,” said AIM President& CEO, Yukinori Suzuki.

Sized like a Mazda MX-5
The EV Sport 01 measures 3.9 metres in length and 1.9 metres in width – the same length as a Mazda MX-5 but with a wider body and longer wheelbase of 2.4 metres. The kerb weight is 1,425 kgs, thanks to using body panels made from a carbonfibre laminate structure over a multi-tubular aluminium frame. The interior is also all carbonfibre in a ‘bathtub’ enclosure.

Two APM200 motors produce a combined 360 kW (490 ps)/740 Nm which goes to the rear wheels with control by an advanced torque vectoring system. Power is supplied by a laminate rechargeable lithium battery with a capacity of 81 kWh configured in four packs.

Renowned designer
The design of the EV Sport 01 was done by SN Design Platform, an independent design company led by Shiro Nakamura, a renowned automotive designer. Nakamura was responsible for the design of models such as Isuzu VehiCROSS and Gemini and when he was at Nissan, he was involved in the design of models such as the Cube, Fairlady Z, GT-R, Murano, Qashqai, Juke and LEAF as well as Infiniti.

Commenting on the 2-seater sport coupe, Mr. Nakamura, who retired from Nissan in 2017, said designing sports cars is a complex exercise in packaging, performance and style. “We learned from the spirit of the great sportscars of the past, helped by the RWD configuration and layout. I wanted to express dynamism with sophisticated elegance through a simple, clean design. The EV Sport 01 has minimal form language and avoids exaggerated and complicated surfaces, reminiscent of the great European and Japanese sportscars of the 1960s. Given that inspiration, it is particularly fitting we can demonstrate our car at Goodwood,” he said.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, an annual motorsports festival in England which is probably the world’s largest car event, will be held from July 13 to July 16, 2023. The AIM EV Sport 01 will make its debut and carry out timed runs as part of the ‘First Glance’ category.