Russian defense company Kalashnikov is branching out from making guns and weaponry. Now, it's making cars. During a recent military expo in Moscow, the company unveiled a fully electric car that a spokesperson said is designed to compete with Tesla.
The car itself, called the CV-1, is designed to mimic the Soviet-era Izh 2125 "Kombi," a station wagon released in 1972. Despite its retro appearance, the CV-1 packs a modern electric engine and a 90 kilowatt-hour battery. The company says the car gets 217 miles of range.
Kalashnikov unveiled the CV-1 at the international military expo Army 2018, where more than 1,000 companies display tens of thousands of products and technologies. This particular vehicle is just a concept for now, with no planned launch date, manufacturing schedule, or price.
While the CV-1 is designed to compete with Tesla, even the company’s own representatives aren’t entirely confident they can beat it. “The car is competing with Tesla because it's currently a successful electric vehicle project,” says Kalashnikov representative Sofia Ivanova. “We expect to at least keep up with it.”
When asked by Russian media outlet RBC what specific advantages the CV-1 has over a Tesla, Ivanova was unable to name any specifics. According to the company, the CV-1 can’t quite hold up in terms of acceleration, managing 0 to 62 mph in six seconds, far behind most Teslas. Still, no word yet on how many rounds per second it can fire.
Source: Business Insider
