A high profile Nissan designer and a respected Toyota engineer – plus a couple of electric motors from a double-decker bus – aim to create an electric supercar like no other.
A new electric sports car from Japan with ties to the UK is being developed by the same people who helped to create the Nissan R35 GT-R supercar and the Toyota C-HR city SUV.
Start-up company ‘Aim’ is a Japanese engineering firm with roots dating back a quarter of a century. It recently created an electric sports car concept, the EV Sport 01.
But unlike many other start-ups in the industry, Aim brings with it some industry heavyweights and a history of motorsports success.
The Aim EV Sport 01 was penned by the man who was responsible for designing the R35 GT-R – Nissan’s global head of design for nearly two decades, Shiro Nakamura – who also created the iconic Isuzu VehiCross, perhaps best known as the futuristic SUV driven by Kanye West.
Behind the scenes is the car’s Chief Engineer, Hiroyuki Koba.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because the Koba variant of the Toyota C-HR – the vehicle he was responsible for creating as Chief Engineer at the Japanese car giant – was named in his honour.
Speaking to Drive at the Tokyo motor show, Mr Koba explained the EV Sport 01 was originally created to showcase the company’s engineering abilities.
“It actually uses two electric motors – the same that come from double-deck buses made in the UK,” Mr Koba said.
With each electric motor powering the rear wheels directly, the Aim concept is said to make 360kW and 740Nm, combined with a weight of 1425kg thanks to an aluminium chassis.
The power-to-weight is roughly on par with an automatic 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 992 – which can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 3.4 seconds – except the Aim EV Sport 01 has almost 60 per cent more torque than the Porsche.
The Aim is fitted with four batter packs producing a total of 81kWh, which Mr Koba says is good for a range of approximately 300 kilometres.
The vehicle is also 3945mm long, 1893mm wide, 1220mm high, and has a wheelbase of 2475mm – or very close to the same dimensions of the Mazda MX-5. And apparently, that’s not a coincidence.
In July 2023, Aim debuted the EV Sport 01 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – and stirred enough interest that Mr Koba says the company is now looking into the feasibility of producing a limited run of the vehicles.
While the EV Sport 01 uses the company’s second-generation electric motor – the first of which was unveiled a decade ago – prior to working in the electric-vehicle segment, Aim was in the internal-combustion engine business.
Though the exact timeline varies, it’s understood Aim developed its own original 4.0-litre V10 race engine from around 1999, with wins at various endurance races, and a second place overall at the 2005 Le Mans 24hrs.
In 2007, a 5.5-litre V10 engine was developed, returning to Le Mans in 2010 and placing fourth overall – the highest result for a non-hybrid petrol engine.
Now the company has turned its sights on making electric motors for different applications and hopes the EV Sport 01 will help exhibit the engineering company to the world.
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