Chinese brand Leapmotor has unveiled the fourth model in its product range. Dubbed the C1, it is a large and powerful all-electric sedan set to ship in China soon with dual electric motors driving all four wheels.
The car is over five meters long and sports frameless doors alongside a slanted roof made mostly out of glass. There is a sunroof above the front seats, and the rear window begins over the second row. The dashboard houses as many as three displays, including the front passenger’s screen, and the rear seats offer power adjustments along with ventilation. Buttons are used to open the doors instead of handles.
Coming in at 5,050 mm (197.3 inches) long, the sedan utilizes a modular architecture with a traction battery distributed throughout its frame. The suspension features a dual-wishbone design at the front axle and a multilink design at the rear axle. Dual motors drive the wheels with 544 PS (536 hp / 400 kW), enabling the C01 to sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than four seconds.
The battery stores up to 90 kWh of power and grants 717 km (445.5 miles) of CLTS-rated driving range. SAE Level 3 driving autonomy is coming to the market later on, too, according to Leapmotor.
Sales are set to begin later in the first half of 2022. Prices remain undisclosed, but the C01 is almost guaranteed to be more expensive than the current flagship, the C11 SUV. The latter comes in at 230,000 Chinese Yuan (34,200 USD) if you just select the top trim level before any options.
Leapmotor is a startup firm founded seven years ago. It reached the market in 2020 and sold around 10,000 EVs in the first year. The sales grew to 45,000 units last year. The first quarter of 2022 alone saw nearly 22,000 units moved. Aside from the C01 and C11 models mentioned above, the company offers an urban compact named the T03 and a small coupe dubbed the S01.