Deus Automobiles. Austrian Deus ex machina
Very little is known about this Austrian company, but it has managed to immediately cause a sensation at the 2022 New York Auto Show. The new brand has managed to present the most powerful electric hypercar in history with a return of more than 2,200 hp and 2000 Nm. An unexpected debut!
Deus ex machina is an expression that means an unexpected, deliberate denouement of a situation, with the involvement of a new external factor. In the ancient theater, the expression denoted a god appearing with the help of a special mechanism (machine) and solving the problems of the characters.
Deus Automobiles is a new player in the electric hypercar segment, from which no one expected such a high-profile debut. Founded in 2020, the company is registered in Vienna and associated with some unknown industrial concern. The company itself claims to be part of a corporate group with more than 30 years of success in industries ranging from publishing to packaging and mobility ecosystems. The Managing Director of Deus is Dirk Schröder, who previously oversaw the business diversification of the paper company Kroha GmbH. The Romanian designer, Adrian-Filip Butuca, is Head of Design at the company.
The first model of the company was named Vayanne in honor of the Austrian capital of Vienna, where the company is headquartered. According to the manufacturers, it should demonstrate ‘a fresh and objective vision, as well as innovative concepts of luxury, dynamics and exclusivity’. The Deus Vayanne hypercar premiered at the 2022 New York Auto Show. With its release, Deus Automobiles competes with Lucid, Raesr, Pininfarina, Rimac, Tesla and even GMC that offer electric vehicles producing over 1,000 hp.
Deus Automobiles cooperates with Williams Advanced Engineering and ItalDesign. Williams Advanced Engineering formerly owned by the Formula 1 team founder, Frank Williams, supplies battery packs for the entire Formula E as well as batteries for the ETCR and Extreme E championships. Italdesign has extensive experience in the development of pre-production cars and limited production models at its headquarters in Turin, Italy. In the spring of 2021, these companies introduced the jointly developed EVX electric platform with the electric motors producing 1,000 kilowatts (1,360 hp) and the possibility of installing the structural batteries with a capacity of 104-160 kilowatt-hours. This very platform is at the heart of the Deus Vayanne hypercar.
Structural batteries were developed by a group of researchers at the University of Central Florida. This is a new composite that can store electricity and at the same time act as a structural element of the car body. Such a material can significantly reduce the weight of electric cars, as well as increase the driving range by approximately 25%. Scientists tested the viability of the concept on a toy car: its body was entirely made of a new polymer and the traction motor was powered from it.
The Deus Vayanne is the most powerful electric hypercar to date, producing over 2,200 hp and 2,000 Nm. The exact numbers remain unknown. Deus has not yet specified either the number of motors, or the transmission type, or even the capacity of the traction battery. But it is likely that the car will surpass all previously created masterpieces: the electric hypercar Rimac Nevera from Croatia (1914 hp), the Japanese Aspark Owl (2012 hp) and the British Lotus Evija (2027 hp). However, it is not yet known whether the Vayanne will be able to keep this title in 2025, when its mass production will finally begin.
Williams Advanced Engineering specialists worked on the batteries and the powertrain, and technical data has not yet been disclosed. It is only known that the car will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h ‘in less than 1.99 seconds’ and will develop a top speed of more than 400 km/h. The hypercar promises to be comfortable, it will even have a luggage compartment, and a 12-centimeter ground clearance is similar to that of some passenger cars.
In New York, the Vayanne is shown as a prototype, and the first production models will be shipped to customers only in 2025. It is planned to release only 99 units. The price has not yet been named, but it is clear that it will be very high. The car is assembled at Italdesign’s own production complex in Turin, which allows the production of up to 500 cars per year.
