Piech GT electric sports car gets reboot

Swiss EV startup Piech has gone back to the drawing board for its GT sports car, which the company now aims to launch in 2028, or four years later than originally planned.

Car and Driver has learned that the original company, founded in 2017 by Rea Stark Rajcic and Toni Piech, a member of the Porsche-Piech clan and son of engineering icon Ferdinand Piech, has collapsed and that Rajcic is no longer involved.

The setback has given Piech time to redesign and reengineer the GT, with the new bodywork penned by David Seesing, the designer of another long-delayed sports car, the TVR Griffith. His design for the GT shares some resemblance to the TVR, particularly from the rear three-quarter view, but crucially there doesn’t appear to be anything shared with Piech’s former design for the GT.

Piech is now headed by Tobias Moers, a former CEO of Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz AMG, and the GT’s powertrain has been upgraded to 1,000 hp, according to Car and Driver, up from 603 hp previously. Reported performance claims include a 0-62 mph time of 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 187 mph.

Piech GT

The powertrain is comprised of a pair of electric motors, both at the rear axle and each independently controlling a rear wheel via a 2-speed transmission. The battery is now a 90-kwh unit, up from 75 kwh previously, and the estimated range is 312 miles on the WLTP cycle used overseas. A figure closer to 250 miles would be likely based on the stricter EPA cycle.

This all sits in a lightweight carbon-fiber tub with aluminum sub-frames front and rear. Piech hasn’t shown the interior design, but the car is expected to feature 2+2 seating, like the previous design for the GT.

According to Car and Driver, the GT is still at the clay model stage, and that Piech is looking for investment for further development. Should all go to plan, production will start in 2028 at the plant of Canadian company Multimatic, the same outfit that built the latest Ford GT and will also build the new Mustang GTD.

The targeted price tag is just over $200,000, and production will be limited to only a few thousand units after which Piech will be able add a second model. This will be a model with four doors, which the original Piech announced in 2019.