Back in the 1970’s—the dawn of the supercar—vehicles like this one were called ‘exotics.’ ‘Exotic,’ for rarified, unusual, esoteric. ‘Exotic,’ as opposed to the generic, mundane sedans and weekend ragtop wedge cars poor automotive writers were tooling around in then, and now, while they dreamed about the kind of launch-speed G-force that melts the faces and blows the minds of the lucky few.
Well, Singapore company Vanda may be unintentionally resurrecting that particular automotive-industry term, as their hypercar offering, the Dendrobium, takes its design inspiration from a rare orchid. Talk about exotic. If you check out the first photo, and notice the way the doors and roof bloom skyward, you might see the petals and dorsal of an orchid blossom. Naturalistic patterns are everywhere in its design. It’s a green supercar, a hypercar for the left-wing environmentalist on a day off. And it looks fast enough to melt your face, too.
Vanda is an electric battery and vehicle startup, and their hypercar vision is an EV concept; the company is positioning itself across industrial, consumer and luxe categories, and they currently build an EV scooter and mini-truck.
The track-car evoking Dendrobium, which is in prototype stage, and is being built by British company Williams Engineering, is powered by eight electric motors producing considerably more than 1,000HP overall, giving the car a top speed beyond 200MPH. Launch speeds? Well, one can only imagine how quickly it might move from stationary to 60. 2.5 seconds? Less?
A year ago, the Dendrobium was only a concept. At the Geneva Motor Show, they unveiled a working draft. They’re looking to move into production in two years, and they appear to be determined enough, and funded well enough, to do it. Titan Capital has been providing necessary financial support.
Perhaps next year’s Geneva show will find Vanda revealing a writerly EV rag-top, a little reasonably-priced 21st-century wedge-car too quick for its own good.
