The press day at Williams Advanced Engineering for the New EVR vehicle. 5/9/22 Photo Tom PIlston.

Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) has unveiled EVR – a high-performance EV platform designed for hypercar manufacturers. Aimed at a wide range of manufacturers, from new start-ups to larger OEMs, it works to accelerate the electrification of high-performance vehicles. Initially revealed at the company’s headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire, EVR will be exhibited at the Cenex LCV event taking place at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford, England between September 7 and 8. 

In enabling hypercar companies to develop high-performance, cost-effective, EVs, EVR provides a lightweight composite structure, with its battery system positioned in the middle of the vehicle. Its flexible design supports a variety of hypercar configurations – including track vehicles with a maximized power-to-weight ratio and roadgoing models with open- or fixed-roof architectures. WAE attributes this adaptability to a central tub that also facilitates performance technologies such as active aerodynamics. 

Available in all- and rear-wheel drive layouts, supported by a variety of electric motor configurations, EVR offers its customers a peak power of 1650 kW. This power enables its heightened performance specifications, including a top speed exceeding 248 mph (400 km) and a 0 – 62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint of less than 2.0 seconds, supported by a vehicle mass below 1800 kg. The 85-kWh battery featured in the platform allows customers to benefit from its fast-charging capability, with a full recharge expected to take less than 20 minutes. When charged, the platform enables an electric vehicle range in excess of 279 miles (450 kilometers). 

In outlining the benefits of EVR to its wide consumer base, WAE has said that start-ups can benefit from its offering of a full turnkey solution – delivering a full vehicle solution and providing exterior design support through a WAE partner. It can likewise help OEMs accelerate their route-to-market, with the engineering and assembly of the rolling chassis completed by WAE, while being adjustable to their design and styling needs to reduce time-to-market. EVR will further provide OEMs and suppliers the chance to integrate new products that help enhance the powertrain’s technology suite, an example being the rolling chassis – which can be continuously developed with new motor and battery technologies developed by WAE. 

Through its new EV platform, WAE is ultimately looking to help hypercar OEMs reduce time-to-market. Here, the company says that a prototype vehicle built on the platform can be delivered within 12 months from kick-off, with the first production model delivered in 24 months – marking a two-year EV development cycle. The company confirmed that the first vehicle to be built on the platform will be the Deus Vayanne – an electric hypercar revealed earlier this year and expected to enter production in 2025. The EV itself is expected to have a combined power output of 2,169 horsepower and 1,475 lb-ft (2000 Nm) of torque. 

In addition to revealing EVR, WAE announced a fuel cell variant of the platform called EVR-H, which aims to match the performance of EVR while using hydrogen as its main source of energy. No further details on this variant, such as its specifications or a release window, have been revealed.