When they say this will be an Asian century, you keep getting proofs asserting that very same fact. And while most of that Asian century limelight has been attracted by India’s start-up superstars, it is the Sri Lankans this time, who have come up with a 900 Horsepower “electronic beast” (and I so damn mean those words), which races from 0-60 MPH in a fiery 3.5 seconds ! Well, meet Vega.
Developed by a Colombo based Tourism software developer CodeGen, Vega is an indigenously developed electronic supercar, designed and built in Sri Lanka. The car, as I mentioned earlier, is an electronic beast (and I so damn mean those words again), which boasts of a staggering 900 HP, some breathtaking looks and a 3.5 seconds 0-60 MPH drive.
The car is a brainchild of Sri Lankan technology entrepreneur Harsha Subasinghe, who founded Code-gen. While the company is a specialist in developing softwares for Sri Lanka’s most flourishing, Tourism industry, Vega is his company’s attempt to put Sri Lanka on the global advanced transportation map. And let me tell you, he surely has done that.
While talking to BBC, Beshan Kulapala, the car’s project manager says,
Getting people to believe that a complex engineering project like a supercar can come from Sri Lanka is a huge challenge for us. This country produces some of the best engineers in the world, but in the past we’ve been afraid to commit to innovative product development for fear of losing, or being ridiculed.
Wondering what other specs this car carries ? Well, let’s quench that automotive thirst of yours.
Vega which has quite rightly earned the supercar tag with its beastly 900 HP engine combined with an astounding 530 pound-feet of torque. The car is completely made of Carbon fiber, and thus weighs just 3000 lbs, which is amazing considering the heavily loaded Lithium-ion batteries. Vega, which will carry a six-figure price tag, can achieve a 150-mile range and a top speed of 150mph. Yeah, all that on those Lithium-ion packs, almost the same tech that powers our humble smartphones.
As told to BBC, Subasinghe has invested more than $500,000 in the initial development costs to get the idea off the ground. However, that’s not it. The budget is expected to reach in Millions, so as to get all the tests and prototypes running. But then, Kulapal, who’s a 13 year veteran at Intel Phd, says that the first prototype would roll out in April, this year !
While companies like Elon Musk’s Tesla have been trying to pioneer electric tech for transportation, Asian start-ups aren’t too far behind. While the Lankans are developing Vega, start-ups in India have been working on more public-utility electric vehicles like two-wheelers etc. And its this generation’s entrepreneurs who are backing them up. Just last year, Flipkart’s Bansals invested to the tune of $1 Million (in personal capacity) in an electric-scooter manufacturing start-up Ather.
While this may well be an Asian century, it also has to be an electric century, if we are serious enough to do atleast something, for our Mother Earth.
IMAGE : BBC/CODEGEN INTERNATIONAL
