Over the years, there have been countless attempts to bring back the lightweight British sports car concept. However, most of them have failed, and those few that remain make bespoke and oft-expensive creations, lest they appeal to a very specific demographic of enthusiasts, such as Caterham and Morgan. Otherwise, the only properly mainstream and commercially successful lightweight British sports car is made in Japan, ironically – the legendary Mazda MX-5. Yet, this might be finally turning in favour of Britain, as there is yet another attempt at bringing back a staple of the UK car industry, this time by ex-Tesla and ex-Lucid executives – the Longbow!
Cool name for sure, but it’s even more interesting once you peel it down to its core. Crucially, it is actually an EV, which makes Longbow the first British electric sports car manufacturer. They are even creating and pioneering a whole new vehicle class just for the Longbow, as it’s known to them as an FEV (‘Featherweight Electric Vehicle’). Best of all, it’s not even a concept, as you could reserve and order one now, with the first customer deliveries planned for 2026. Granted, you might want to hurry, as Longbow Motors is only planning on making a few of these spread across 2 distinct models in their line-up – the Longbow Speedster and the Longbow Roadster.
Revival & Comeback For The Lightweight British Sports Car
Speaking of, pricing-wise, I find that it’s actually quite reasonable for a couple of electric sports cars designed, engineered, and hand-built in the UK. The open-top Speedster has a price tag of starting at £84,995, while the closed-cockpit Roadster is a bit cheaper, starting at £64,995. For an electric car (and even by sports car standards), the Longbow is exceptionally lightweight, as well. The Speedster, for example, tips the scale at just 895kg, while the Roadster does weigh a bit more, at around 995kg. Nevertheless, sub-1,000kg sports cars, electric or not, ought to feel like a joy to drive, and the Longbow are paired with equally capable electric powertrains.
Between the Speedster and the Roadster, respectively, you’ll be able to hit 0-62mph in a mere 3.5 seconds and 3.6 seconds. In a world where cars are getting heavier (and bigger, too), I say it’s quite refreshing to hear Longbow Motors’ heavy focus on weight savings. Maybe it’s not a surprise, given that some of the folks working on the Longbow include the original pioneers of the Tesla Roadster, as well as engineers that hail from Lucid Motors, BYD, Aston Martin, Ariel, Lotus, and even Formula E! In fact, Longbow Motors’ motto is ‘Celeritas Levitas’ (The Speed of Lightness), emphasising the importance of lightweight, high-performance motoring.
The Very Best Of British (And The Entire Car Industry)
Inspired by the likes of the Lotus Elise and the Jaguar E-Type, underneath, the Longbow is built on a bespoke aluminium chassis, ensuring that you get maximum stiffness, yet without having to compromise on weight. Moreover, given that it’s an EV, range will no doubt be an issue, but Longbow has taken care of that for you, as the Speedster and Roadster boast a WLTP range of 275 miles. For an electric sports car that you’ll mostly enjoy on the weekends – or if you’re very brave, maybe even use this as your daily driver – that’s a respectable amount of endurance. On top of that, with traditional British craftsmanship in mind, it’s a tactile, nostalgic experience.
Alas, for the time being, Longbow Motors won’t be making all too many Longbows, with there only 150 total examples of the Speedster, including a couple of special editions (10 units reserved for the Luminary 1st Edition, and 25 more units for the Autograph Edition), as well as a couple of special edition variants of the Roadster. The latter includes just 50 examples made for the Luminary 1st Edition and 100 more examples for the Autograph Edition. It all sounds a bit too good to be true, but I’m certainly cheering them on, as the revival and comeback of the lightweight British sports car can only be a good thing for everyone, not just enthusiasts.
