Gumpert RG Nathalie Prototype The revolutionary EV


Gumpert’s electric supercar will do 186 mph, and it’s powered by alcohol.

You can literally feel Roland Gumpert’s excitement. The 73-year-old has experienced quite a bit in his remarkable career, but this project seems to have really grabbed him. The ex-Audi Motorsport Director, super sports-car manufacturer, and Nürburgring record holder (with his road-racing car Apollo) has invited us to a small studio in Ingolstadt, Germany, where he will show a few journalists his latest creation.

To be honest, we had almost no idea what to expect. There was talk of a new electric sports car. With Chinese support. Gumpert Aiways is the name of the new company. Further information? None. It makes it exciting. We are three weeks away from the ceremonial revelation at the Beijing Motor Show and Gumpert apparently wants to go in with a big bang. Take it from us: he should succeed.

You have probably already seen “Nathalie” in the accompanying photo gallery. Nathalie (yes, that’s really the car’s name) is wrapped in a rather elaborate purple paint, measures just over 4.2m long, and looks like a muscle car from the year 2030. If you look closer, you’ll recognise a lot of cues from the ultra-sexy Audi Sport Quattro concept of several years ago.

Strong Partner From China

Roland Gumpert spent 35 years with Audi; he will never completely forsake the four rings. In 1998, he moved to China as a board member for sales and marketing, where he set up the Audi dealer network with a local partner. The partner, a certain Mr. Fu, became a friend of Gumpert’s, and saw his eldest daughter grow up (bet you can’t guess what her name is). Now Gumpert and Fu have founded a new company for the construction of electric sports cars: a Shanghai-based outfit called Aiways. Though calling it a startup may be a bit understated, if you have a starting capital of 1.5 billion Euros. Gumpert acts for Aiways as product director. From 2019, there will be continental electric cars: Small cars, SUVs, buses, limousines. There’s a platform for eight different vehicle variants. The future production facility is designed to assemble 300,000 cars a year.

However, the flagship of Aiways comes from Germany, and should be produced there starting from 2019. Behind the name RG (for “Roland Gumpert”) Nathalie, which needs getting used to, is a truly revolutionary idea – at least for the automotive industry. Why revolutionary? Because this burly electric wedge drives with a methanol fuel cell.

In principle, you pour pure alcohol into the tank. This is heated to 300-400 degrees Celsius (572-752 degrees Fahrenheit). Carbon dioxide is emitted, and what remains is hydrogen, which is passed through the fuel cell to generate electricity. No one has done this so far, but the benefits are obvious: Lengthy recharging processes are completely eliminated.

Of course, they would also be eliminated with a “normal” hydrogen fuel-cell car, but here Gumpert’s system does not need a complicated and complex-to-design tank infrastructure. Any gas station could, in principle, set up a methanol dispenser overnight. The refuelling process is no different from filling a conventional car. On top of that, methanol costs only about a third the price of petrol.

The unconventional fuelling system will give the RG Nathalie impressive driving ranges.

“A classic electric car in the sense that I understand a car does not work,” says Roland Gumpert. “I drive 200, 300 kilometers [124-184 miles] and then I stop because the battery is dead. This contradicts my idea of freedom. Here I always have my generator on board, we reach proven ranges of at least 600 kilometers [372 miles]. If I drive economically, up to 1,200 kilometers [746 miles].” Why has none of the major manufacturers come up with this simple and ingenious idea? “Because they did not think enough,” says Gumpert.

The RG Nathalie is based on a tubular frame and has a body made of carbonfibre. The fuel cell sits in front, the batteries are T-shaped and distributed in the vehicle floor. The interior looks sporty and modern: pure and minimalist with a bunch of displays and novel-looking materials. The two-seater has a reasonably usable boot, weighs just under 1600kg, and has a weight distribution of 45:55 front-rear.

Gumpert’s electric supercar will do 186 mph, and it’s powered by alcohol.

You can literally feel Roland Gumpert's excitement. The 73-year-old has experienced quite a bit in his remarkable career, but this project seems to have really grabbed him. The ex-Audi Motorsport Director, super sports-car manufacturer, and Nürburgring record holder (with his road-racing car Apollo) has invited us to a small studio in Ingolstadt, Germany, where he will show a few journalists his latest creation.

To be honest, we had almost no idea what to expect. There was talk of a new electric sports car. With Chinese support. Gumpert Aiways is the name of the new company. Further information? None. It makes it exciting. We are three weeks away from the ceremonial revelation at the Beijing Motor Show and Gumpert apparently wants to go in with a big bang. Take it from us: he should succeed.

You have probably already seen "Nathalie" in the accompanying photo gallery. Nathalie (yes, that’s really the car’s name) is wrapped in a rather elaborate purple paint, measures just over 4.2m long, and looks like a muscle car from the year 2030. If you look closer, you’ll recognise a lot of cues from the ultra-sexy Audi Sport Quattro concept of several years ago.

Strong Partner From China

Roland Gumpert spent 35 years with Audi; he will never completely forsake the four rings. In 1998, he moved to China as a board member for sales and marketing, where he set up the Audi dealer network with a local partner. The partner, a certain Mr. Fu, became a friend of Gumpert’s, and saw his eldest daughter grow up (bet you can’t guess what her name is). Now Gumpert and Fu have founded a new company for the construction of electric sports cars: a Shanghai-based outfit called Aiways. Though calling it a startup may be a bit understated, if you have a starting capital of 1.5 billion Euros. Gumpert acts for Aiways as product director. From 2019, there will be continental electric cars: Small cars, SUVs, buses, limousines. There’s a platform for eight different vehicle variants. The future production facility is designed to assemble 300,000 cars a year.

However, the flagship of Aiways comes from Germany, and should be produced there starting from 2019. Behind the name RG (for "Roland Gumpert") Nathalie, which needs getting used to, is a truly revolutionary idea – at least for the automotive industry. Why revolutionary? Because this burly electric wedge drives with a methanol fuel cell.

In principle, you pour pure alcohol into the tank. This is heated to 300-400 degrees Celsius (572-752 degrees Fahrenheit). Carbon dioxide is emitted, and what remains is hydrogen, which is passed through the fuel cell to generate electricity. No one has done this so far, but the benefits are obvious: Lengthy recharging processes are completely eliminated.

Of course, they would also be eliminated with a "normal" hydrogen fuel-cell car, but here Gumpert’s system does not need a complicated and complex-to-design tank infrastructure. Any gas station could, in principle, set up a methanol dispenser overnight. The refuelling process is no different from filling a conventional car. On top of that, methanol costs only about a third the price of petrol.

The unconventional fuelling system will give the RG Nathalie impressive driving ranges.

"A classic electric car in the sense that I understand a car does not work," says Roland Gumpert. "I drive 200, 300 kilometers [124-184 miles] and then I stop because the battery is dead. This contradicts my idea of freedom. Here I always have my generator on board, we reach proven ranges of at least 600 kilometers [372 miles]. If I drive economically, up to 1,200 kilometers [746 miles].” Why has none of the major manufacturers come up with this simple and ingenious idea? "Because they did not think enough," says Gumpert.

The RG Nathalie is based on a tubular frame and has a body made of carbonfibre. The fuel cell sits in front, the batteries are T-shaped and distributed in the vehicle floor. The interior looks sporty and modern: pure and minimalist with a bunch of displays and novel-looking materials. The two-seater has a reasonably usable boot, weighs just under 1600kg, and has a weight distribution of 45:55 front-rear.

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