There was a time when the very idea of a fully electric car was the stuff of science fiction, or at least something we just hoped might happen some day in the future. In 2008, Tesla Motors released the Tesla Roadster, the first highway-legal fully electric car to use a lithium-ion battery. Although electric cars have had their ups and downs since long before the Tesla Roadster, it’s release was arguably the start of the era of fully electric vehicles we now find ourselves in.
Now that we are living in that future and electric car sales are consistently rising each year, we can look forward to the new makes and models coming soon. Even though there are a lot of exciting options already, if you’re anything like me, you’re probably already wondering what the world of electric cars has in store for us in the next few years. Continue reading as we go over a few of the exciting fully electric cars, trucks, and SUVs that have been announced for 2021.
Audi E-Tron GT
Sure, we all love the E Tron Quattro electric SUV with its high-end luxury and respectable performance, but if you’re like me, you probably wonder what Audi could do if they put their focus on performance over luxury in an electric vehicle. The Audi E Tron GT, first presented at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, is Audi’s all-electric sports car to be released in 2021. As a diehard Audi fan, I simply cannot wait to get behind that wheel and see what those two motors with a combination of 590 horsepower can really do. Claiming 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, Audi is bringing us competitive performance, but we can no doubt still expect the level of comfort and luxury that they have always delivered.
Audi has not yet released pricing information about the E Tron GT, neither have they said anything about the trim levels that will be available. However, we do know that it was designed alongside the Porsche Taycan, and that there are a lot of similarities there, including the 800 volt architecture. For those not keeping score, that is roughly double the typical EV operating voltage. As a quick side-note, that 800 volts means it will have a surprisingly fast charging time. We will have to wait and see what the E Tron GT will cost, but we can guess around $100,000 since it is so comparable to the Taycan, and the E Tron Quattro sells for around $75,000. Keep your eyes on the showroom near the end of 2020 for an entry-level version.
Bollinger B1 and Bollinger B2
Sure we all love speed and luxury in an EV, but what about some good old fashioned power and grit? The two premier releases of the New York based EV startup, Bollinger, are an all-electric SUV called the Bollinger B1, and the all-electric pickup truck called the Bollinger B2. In terms of style, you can picture a modern version of the old Land Rover, or the Land Cruiser, and make it all-electric, and you get the general idea. I don’t mean to undersell it though, because these beasts have a stylish, yet stalwart, look of their own. Both of these models will have dark wheels, roof racks with mounts for off-road lighting, and headlight grills that give them that rugged look you want in a truck.
If you are prone to going offroad every once in a while, you are probably wondering if an all-electric truck or SUV is going to be able to get around in mud, sand, and over rocks. Not only is the answer yes, but you might find that it actually outperforms many gas-powered models. Off-roading in a gas-powered vehicle usually requires you to keep up a certain idle speed so that you don’t lose that low end torque. With the Bollinger B1 and B2, you get 315 pound-feet of torque per motor as soon as you touch the accelerator. Idle speed is a thing of the past, because there is no longer any need to build up speed for torque.
Now, of course, we are left with the questions that always need to be answered when it comes to a new electric vehicle; price, mileage, and charging time. In October of last year, Bollinger announced that the expected retail price would be $125,000. The range of the 120-kWh battery is expected to be roughly 200 miles per charge. As far as charging time, you are looking at about 10 hours on 220 volt, but there is a DC fast-charging option which cuts that down to about 75 minutes for a full charge. Charging with 110 volts is also possible, but Bollinger has not provided an estimate for the charging time with it, but obviously we can assume that it would be significantly longer. Both of these models are expected to go on sale in 2021, but Bollinger is taking deposits for them now.
Ford F-150 Electric
There are a lot of Ford fans out there that have been waiting for the day that they can trade in that old gas-guzzler for an all electric-version of this classic pickup. In 2021, Ford will be releasing the all-electric F-150. I know that some people are probably already wondering if an all-electric version can still deliver the toughness they expect from the F-150. Ford went ahead and put all those questions to rest in July of 2019 when they had a F-150 Electric pull one million pounds of gas-powered F-150s loaded onto rail cars. That’s right, using nothing but batteries and good old-fashioned grit, it successfully towed one million pounds! Ford has not released much information on the F-150 Electric yet, but it is expected to be released in 2021, and it is expected to be one of the first all-electric pickup trucks with a front-end trunk where the combustion engine would normally be, otherwise known as a “frunk”. Hopefully more detailed information will be available soon, but so far the F-150 Electric sounds like a promising new addition to the all-electric pickup truck lineup.
