Vintage car meets automotive future.
Dreams and passions are usually the foundation to the manifestation of things the world has never seen. This is also true for young founder, Riccardo Quaggio of Totem Automobili in Italy. Having worked for Alfa Romeo as part of the interior design team, his vision to redesign the Alfa GT was far to strong to ignore. Needless to say, he left Alfa Romeo and set out to produce only 20 of the most exclusive, all electric, handed crafted, carbon bodied Alfa Romeo GT's ever.
Each individual car will be completely bespoke and made to order by owners request. However, they all will carry out the same performance. The featured car is the first car and the prototype. It is based off a 1973 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Junior. Currently, it is powered by a Totem electric motor, producing the equivalent of 518hp using a 50.4Kw battery. Riccardo did tell me the production cars will be upgraded to a 590hp engine using a 60.9Kw battery pack. He claims the new motors will be capable of propelling the car from 0-60 in 2.0 seconds vs. it's current 3.4 seconds. With so much power, braking is equally as important and that is provided by Brembo's latest and most powerful set, M-B4.
There is no doubt running an all electric motor in a vintage car sparks a little controversy! To assist in maintaining that old school feel, Riccardo and his team developed a series of speakers that mimic the sound of a traditional engine. Even more so, you can choose from a variety of engine types. We tested the American car rumble. You can hear that in the video below.
The Totem Automobili team is collectively 100 dedicated individuals working together making this dream a reality. The team is made up of top designers, fabricators, suppliers, and engineers. Creating such detailed work is time consuming, so much so, the wait period for delivery is approximately 3 years. The sale price is also not for the faint of heart. Expect to pay in the upper $500K's to low $600K's depending on the customizations. The price includes the donor car. Totem does require a 25 percent deposit up front, 50 percent half way through production, and the remaining 50 percent with completion of the build.
Whether its love at first sight or not, the car is something to admire. The level of detail is astonishing, especially the full carbon fiber body. With only 20 cars ever produced, this car will have a special place as the history of EV technology continues to write itself.
To see a full review and video about the Electric GT by The Barn Miami, click here or on the video below.
