Roadyacht GTS reborn as GLM G4 electric supercar

The Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS returned at the Paris motor show, rebranded and reborn as an electric supercar. 

GLM, a Japanese EV startup, is reviving the Roadyacht GTS project as the G4 as it enters the electric supercar landscape at the Paris motor show at the end of this month.

The Roadyacht GTS, a four-seater supercar from the Netherlands, was revealed in 2011 but failed to gain traction. Now GLM has bought a stake in Savage Rivale and plans to replace the Roadyacht’s Corvette-derived V8 with an all-electric powertrain. 

That powertrain, according to GLM, provides around 738lb ft of torque, and the equivalent to just over 536bhp. Torque can be split between the front and rear wheels depending on the driver's preference, while 62mph is out of the way from a standstill in 3.7sec. GLM claims that the G4 cruises at 155mph. More pertinent to its EV nature is its range, which GLM puts at 248 miles. 

Savage Rivale was started by Justin de Boer and Emile Pop, but they have been unable to establish the Roadyacht in an already-saturated supercar market. With GLM now taking over the project, Savage Rivale will shift its focus from building the petrol-powered Roadyacht to concentrating on studio design work, with projects including new sports cars as well as boats and villas.

The electric supercar field is expanding, with several new projects under way. Faraday Future, a US venture, unveiled a concept supercar at the CES show in Las Vegas in January, while a Chinese startup called NextEV plans to reveal its McLaren P1-rivalling hypercar effort before the end of the year. McLaren is said to be working on an all-electric successor to the P1, and in April the Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) unveiled the Arcfox-7 electric supercar.

GLM's CEO, Hiroyasu Koma, said: "The Automotive industry is changing and in the next few years the EV market will see significant growth, taking shares of internal combustion vehicles market. GLM's mission is to be at the forefront and push the boundaries of EVs. Our 'key enabler' technologies and the concept of 'application to variants' will be applied for dissemination of EVs which you would witness in near future."

"Developing EV technology not only concretely contributes to a low-carbon society but provides an exciting driving experience: this is our vision and daily inspiration."

Phill Tromans and Jimi Beckwith