Osaka-based car manufacturer Aspark exhibited its Owl EV Hypercar at the Paris Motor Show. While the car in the City Of Light was actually only a show model without a propulsion system or even a fully sorted interior, Aspark announced that it is opening preorders for the hypercar. How much do you need to deposit? Try a cool 1 million euros ($1.15 million)! That is just the deposit, mind you. Once the car is ready for delivery by mid-2020, you will have to churn out a few more million, rounding up the price to $3.6 million. Yup, crazy!

Why Does Aspark Ask For So Much Money?

Its main competitors will obviously be the new Tesla Roadster and the Rimac Concept_2. Now, the Aspark isn’t actually as mad with its numbers as the Tesla and the Rimac are (still fairly crazy though). The Owl should be able to reach 62 mph in 1.99 seconds, cover 186 miles on one charge. and hit 174 mph. All that with 1,150 horsepower and 652 pound-feet of torque.

Sure, this is crazy, but Tesla and Rimac are promising even madder things. Nevertheless, to prove the point Aspark actually filmed its Owl hypercar accelerating to 62 mph in 1.87 seconds. On racing tires, it seems. I am convinced it can achieve this. But I am not convinced that Aspark will be able to produce the promised 50 units of the Owl. That is how many Chief Executive Officer of Aspark, Masanori Yoshida, promised to produce.

It Is Light, It Is Low

Will it be a two-motor setup? Or a three-motor setup? That is still to be decided. However, we do know that the car should tip the scales at 3,300 pounds. First, the Japanese estimated they will keep the weight under 2,000 pounds, but that was just impossible with the levels of performance at work here. Even with 3,300 pounds, Aspak had to use advanced carbon fiber shell, and magnesium wheels. However, as the design and the drivetrain aren’t exactly finalized yet, we will have to wait for the final specs a bit more. Maybe even mid-2020.

The model revealed at the 2018 Paris Motor Show is actually a quite aggressive machine formulated with a length of 190 inches, a height of 40 inches (like the Ford GT40), and a width of 70 inches. Obviously, a hunkered down beast created for the best possible acceleration and most brutal mid acceleration feats. Although maybe lacking behind Rimac and Tesla and their promises of speed, range, and acceleration, the Aspark Owl doesn’t seem as far-fetched in its performance claims as those two.

While the exterior looks a tad old-fashioned and has that 2000s design quality, the inside is 2018 enough. True, the shapes in the cabin aren’t exactly sophisticated, but you can find four screens. That’s modern.

Conclusion

We are waiting for mid-2020 to see the first proper driving tests and actually witness a production road-going version reach 62 mph in less than 2 seconds. The Aspark may not be as excitingly mind-boggling as the Rimac Concept_Two or the Tesla Roadster, but it will be expensive. If the company manages to pick up enough $1.15 million deposits from interested parties, it will have to build it. Stay tuned.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2017 Aspark Owl Fast.

Read our full review on the 2020 Tesla Roadster 2.0.

Read our full review on the 2019 Rimac C_Two.