First Drive – Electric Roadster RBW is a sports modern view of the British classic

RBW, a British handmade manufacturer of electric cars, B3wer its cute roadster out to Santa Monica and invited us to ride.

RBW has been building cars in the UK for several years, but is about to set up American production in Virginia. Along with this comes the version of its roadster adapted to the American market and we are going to look with a short ride in Santa Monica.

RBW Roadster is a small, hand -built, retro style EV, which is a modern view of British classics. However, it is not a real classic in itself-it is a newly built vehicle with a new body, modern safety features and even some electronics such as CarPlay and Android Auto (but there is nothing else-there is no huge screen defining cockpit, just 9 ″ one, driver.

Our ride was shorts, just a quick way up and down the most trading part of the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, without having a great chance for the legs of the vehicle to really stretch. So we can verify the ranges or tell you how it deals with the limits, but we can tell you about the basic controls and the feeling of the vehicle.

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We usually have a smooth journey, the car offered comfortable driving dynamics. We did not get a feeling of noise from the chassis, because the upper part was down (which I crossed, was an efficient effort of the company – I used the same trick to show the car).

The driving is tight and has a good weight and a style in style in my hands felt great.

Especially interesting for me, as a long -term driver EV, is how the throttle pedal is tuned. A lot of EV adds a certain deliberate delay or silenced throttle inputs, which ends in the pedal to feel mushy and indirect, which reduces the control you have above the vehicle.

For information, cars I drive most often are Tesla Roadster and Model 3, which have an excellent feeling of direct feeling of pedal.

And I am glad that I can announce that the RBW throttle pedal feels very much like the cars I love. The car feels fast and responds exactly to what I want when I want it to do it. However, it is not too much “punch”, as if some of the absurdly raised EVs can be (like the Plaid Tesla Model S or Macan Turbo S).

However, it does not have regenerating regeneration braking, aka one -off driving. Pressing the brake pedal deals with Regen Regen, but the throttle is released by the coast. Personally, I prefer a single-clue steering, but one of the RBW perspectives has had it that since the vehicle has no traction control, regenerative braking on the rear axle (where the engine) the cream potentially present in the safety problem on slippery roads. So, I think quite fair, but I still prefer one pedal.

Speaking of pedals, the brake pedal was placed quite far from the accelerator. It is more and minus – minus, because these days they differ from most vehicles where the pedals are located closer to try to get the right leg with them. Plus plus, because higher separation can reduce the chance to “cross pedals” and accidentally press both of the same foot in an emergency situation, and because it allows the left track braking, which is generally better for performance control… in the hands of a trained driver.

That means it’s not exactly performance because. It’s fun, it’s reacting, but it’s not powerful. The version we tested had a time of 0-60 time only 9 seconds, so it didn’t give you a “throwing head throw” that Mary EVS on the road these days yes. It’s sensitive, but not fast.

RBW says the American version will have more motor performance than the British version, but still trying to find out exactly how to tune it. This should reduce 0-60 times down about a second. But we can’t help but think that it would be nice with a little more power that the one we think should be a 50kWh battery and a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2,900.

Here is the result: all the specifications we have received seem very smooth. When talking to the company, I got several different numbers for all special special. It seems to me that the company still finds out exactly what changes will make for its US models.

This is somewhat expected to expect from a small, hand -built manufacturer, especially because buyers can apply for certain modifications or personalization (for example, the height of the seat, which is important because it is like this). But it’s hard to write about it.

However, the car is going well and it seems that RBW is very fine about the dynamics of the vehicle. It is well done on its goal-entertaining, small British roadster, a great weekend car for those who have resources.

As far as resources are concerned, RBW Roadster will start in the $ 140-150,000 range, so it’s not cheap. But if you are looking for something like that, it is just the only game in the city and it is good executions to feel a brisk roadster for a weekend cruise.

RBW is currently receiving a $ 1,000 reservation for 2026 assembly and on your website you can see configurations (color, roof, interior, wheels).

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