British challenger aims to revive the spirit of lightweight sports cars with a “featherweight” EV approach.
Electric cars have a weight problem. Bulky batteries make most EVs several hundred kilograms heavier than their petrol equivalents. While that bulk can be disguised in SUVs, it has left enthusiasts waiting for a truly light and nimble electric sports car. A new British startup, Longbow, believes it has the answer.
Origins of Longbow
Longbow was founded in August 2023 by industry veterans who cut their teeth during the first wave of electric innovation. CEO Daniel Davey began his EV journey in 2010 with the original Tesla Roadster in California. He recalls that Tesla had to invent many components from scratch, while today there is an abundance of high-quality parts available off the shelf. That makes the timing right, he argues, for a new kind of electric sports car.
Rather than retrofitting historic models, Longbow chose a clean-sheet design. “We’ve got a clear mission to change how the world feels about sports cars,” explains COO Mark Tapscott, who previously helped launch Tesla in the UK and UAE before senior roles at Hyundai, Lucid, and BYD. Alongside Davey and Executive Chair Jenny Keisu, who formerly led Swedish EV boat startup XShore, Longbow’s leadership brings decades of combined experience across six electric brands.
Breaking the British Sports Car Curse
Small UK carmakers have a mixed record, but Longbow believes its focus sets it apart. The company isn’t chasing hypercar numbers or Nürburgring records. Instead, it targets authenticity, beauty, and driving engagement. The first model, the Roadster, will cost around £84,995 ($115,000), followed by a coupe at £64,995 ($88,000). Both aim to bring purity back to sports car design without the “weight creep and tech bloat” of modern vehicles.
Crucially, Longbow claims its cars will weigh less than 1,000kg. The Roadster is projected at just 895kg, nearly half the weight of the MG Cyberster. With 322hp on tap, the promise is an EV that prioritizes fun and agility over brute force. Tapscott describes this category as “featherweight electric vehicles”—lighter even than today’s so-called lightweight EVs.
Innovation Through Simplicity
Longbow’s technical approach centers on simplicity and lightness. Rather than designing an entirely bespoke drivetrain, the company will leverage existing supply chains while introducing clever innovations. One such idea is using the chassis itself as the battery pack, eliminating the need for a separate box, reducing adhesives, and cutting weight.
Performance targets include 0–60mph in 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 125mph, and a WLTP range of around 270 miles. Instead of pursuing oversized motors and extreme ranges, Longbow intends to keep costs and complexity manageable. The cars will use NMC 2170 cylindrical cells, with a likely 400V architecture for better supply chain compatibility.
Aiming for a Cult Following
Despite the excitement, Longbow does not expect to be a mass-market player. The team envisions producing up to 10,000 cars a year by the end of the decade, aimed at enthusiasts in Europe, the US, and Japan. Early customer reaction has been strong, with enough reservations secured for the first year of production despite zero marketing spend.
Design, engineering, and manufacturing will all take place in the UK, with heavy input from an advisory board featuring ex-leaders of McLaren, Alpine, and Lotus. “We have well over a century of British sports car experience on the team,” says Tapscott, who believes this knowledge will help avoid the mistakes of past small carmakers.
The first customer cars are expected by late 2026, with test vehicles hitting the road much sooner. For Davey, the philosophy is clear: “The sports car doesn’t need to swim or fly. It just needs to be light, simple, and thrilling to drive.”
Whether Longbow proves to be a longshot or a bullseye remains to be seen. But with its featherweight ethos, the company is daring to challenge one of the biggest obstacles in modern EV design: weight.
