Which SPV? The Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle or the Spectrum Patrol Vehicle? Huh?

Looks like a Citroen DS to me.

it'll have no problem getting all that power to the ground!

And as an electric car it should manage a staggaringly fast 0-60

Bit expensive for me (current car cost.. ooh... £700) but still, looks quirky (as opposed to just crap like more EVs) and should really fly along!

I hope they succeed, if just to see Mr Clarkson having to report on it after the Beebs more than dodgy reporting on the Tesla! The fastest production car being an EV, he'd love that!

I won't buy it unless it has weapons mounted and chairs that slide out sideways so people can get in, if they throw in an Angel it's definately value for money.

No comment; The icon says it all.

but for some reason, i really want one!?!

It's in the middle...

it should be able to go just as fast in reverse and break the Caterham world record of 102+ mph

...to photoshop the thing bright pink so we can see exactly how much it looks like The M'Lady M'Bile.

Boo. Hiss. Oh yes, much heckling indeed.

Sure it might have performance (eventually) but I have to say that's one of *the* most butt-ugly cars I've seen in a long time.

In fact, I'd even say it beats the Fiat Multipla...

If I had the money, I'd buy one - in red!

Failing that, I'd like to see Clarkson try it out.

That car is absolutely fecking ugly! Impressive performance stats no doubt though. What is it with electric car manufacturers designing fugly cars (with a few exceptions like the Tesla).

Paris, cos she is so much nicer on the eyes :)

my car cost £400

I should worry with 8 wheels it doesn't matter where the steering wheel is, as it won't be able to get round corners anyway.

It does have cues from both the Citroens DS and SM.. and it is strangely graceful although someone should take a hammer to that front clip. My only worry is that Paris Hilton might find it sexy... and the thought of Ms. Hilton and high voltage electrics in close proximity worries me.... it almost reads like a Dr Who script..

The design is strange though it is makes alot of sense... the more driven wheels the safer it is, and can you see the look on the sccoby fanbois faces as you fly past them dead silent while their blonde girlfriends make an instant resolution to dump them....

See, Its good for the gene pool as well .... I say develop it and market it cheap... it may be a loss-leader but it might just help save the human race...

Erm, it looks to me like it's on the right hand side (where all good steering wheels live)

OK, why has it got so many wheels?

...and soft on the inside - cos it sure looks like an armadillo

@ Damn Yank - the steering wheel is clearly on the right in the lower picture (which is where a steering wheel belongs)

What benefit does eight wheels bring? More complex steering, more road noise, more weight, more rolling resistance, more tyres to replace. There is probably a good reason why 99.9% of cars designed over the last 100 years only have 4 wheels.

"More complex steering, more road noise, more weight, more rolling resistance, more tyres to replace."

Indeed so, which is why lots of multi-axle trucks and trailers these days have the technology to lift the un-nneded axles when they're not in use. So do the same here, I'm sure Ali G/Westwood and his mates on Pimp My Ride would fix it for them.

Well, just a thought, 8 wheels 80hp each that is about 0.48 MegaWatts with a heavy right foot.

That is going to be a rather heavy battery bank or two. I would imagine that the batteries are in two banks above the two sets of 4 wheels with the centre of mass between pairs of wheels.in each case. This would surely improve stability, especially under high acceleration. There may also be a problem with weight and wheel bearings.

They did indeed have their reasons, but they weren't terribly good ones. It needed non-standard front tyres and the standard size rears were still out in the airstream, so it had little less drag, and no more traction, than a four-wheeler. http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/240march1.html shows one which might have worked better, had they been able to get the under-engineered transmission to work.

Combination of a DS and Lady P's Roller which goes seriously VooooM but silently? Mmmmmm. Want want want...

according to wikipedia,

"The car has eight wheels enabling it to be closer to the ground for better traction".

I think I follow this argument, (there's a couple of steps left out).

But what advance in engineering has made this change a good idea? I suspect it's not the battery. Vista SP1, perhaps?