Update on the Japanese 2nd cousin (twice removed) of the Tesla Roadster, the K.08
We last heard from the all-electric K.08 from Ken Okuyama Cars at the Geneva Motor Show but as the months slipped by we started to wonder whether the car was still a go. Finally, news has started to trickle in. First, we learned that Ken Okuyama Design had hired long-time Chrysler designer Michael Castiglione, who penned the Dodge Challenger Concept, to do some work on future cars and furniture. Now we've learned that Okuyama-san held a press conference in a Tokyo parking garage yesterday where he was accompanied by the gas-powered and topless K.07 as well as the K.08. The talk centered mostly around the K.07 which has buyers for the entire 2008 output of 24 vehicles. The queue for the 99 units to be built next year will officially start forming on the 1st of November. As for the K.08, the prototype at the conference lacked both battery and motor which is not to say it won't be built but will likely take some more time to get the electric drivetrain together. Hopefully it won't take too long since the K.07 is also supposed to be available in an all-electric version as is the upcoming K.09 to be unveiled at the next Geneva Motor Show. So, what's this car have to do with the Tesla Roadster? Believe it or not, they both share British DNA from the Lotus Elise.
Gallery: K.08
[Source: Autoblog / Autocar]
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