Late last year, Sony whipped the covers off an electric car that the electronics giant is planning on putting into production in the near future. But Sony wasn't the only one planning on taking on Tesla at its own game.
Dyson may be an industry leader in the vacuum cleaner game, but has also announced plans to venture into the automotive industry with a full line-up of electric vehicles. But unfortunately, those plans recently came crashing down.
Sir James Dyson, Britain’s richest man, spent £500m developing an electric car to rival Tesla’s. Then he scrapped it before the first prototype took to the road. He tells John Arlidge why https://t.co/mIVmVFnN6D
— The Sunday Times Magazine (@TheSTMagazine) May 17, 2020
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Codenamed the N526, Dyson boss, and British billionaire James Dyson had kept quiet about the company's first SUV, up until now, when details were revealed in a tell-all interview with The Times.
It would have fallen into the same premium crossover segment as the Tesla Model X, but featured a range of 965km. This is almost double the Model X's range of 505km.
In terms of aesthetics, the N526 was a little off centre, with an incredibly steep windscreen, and wheels that were “bigger than on any production car on the market."
On the inside, the SUV featured segmented cushions and round headrests. The gauge cluster reportedly didn't exist either, and was replaced by an innovative head-up display that “floats in front of your face like a hologram.”
According to Mr. Dyson, who is worth around $33 billion, around $1.2 billion of his own money was sunk into the electric car project before the company decided to call it quits.
Each car would have to sell for around $300,000 for the company to break even, which is a tall ask of the public.
Dyson finished by saying that not all is lost on the project as his company is open to the idea of other brands tapping into its recently-developed solid-state batteries.