This is the world’s fastest car – and it’s made by a South African

A South African-born tech CEO, Priven Reddy, has unveiled a new hypercar that claims to be the fastest-accelerating car ever made.

Reddy is the CEO of a new automotive company called Ararkis Automobili Ltd, which has now revealed its first car to the globe in the form of the Sandstorm – a hypercar that can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 1.5 seconds.

This, claims Reddy, makes it the “world’s fastest 0-100kph production car.”

Great ambitions

Following in the footsteps of Pretoria-born Elon Musk, who moved to the United States and formed the now world-leading electric car company Tesla, Reddy was born and raised in Durban with ambitions to become an entrepreneur with a focus on future technologies.

Having moved to the United Kingdom, Reddy founded Ararkis Automobili with the goal of developing battery-electric supercars that will serve as ultra-exclusive examples of engineering designed to push the limits of what can be done with electric vehicles (EVs).

Its first car, the Sandstorm, was finally unveiled at the company’s London headquarters, where it was announced that only 20 units would ever be produced and that the owners would be decided on an invite-only basis.

Exclusivity is not the only thing that the hypercar has going for it though, as the reveal came with the incredible announcement that the Sandstorm can accelerate to 100km/h in a record-breaking 1.5 seconds, making it the quickest production car off the line in history.

For reference, a few of the other cars competing in this territory include the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 (1.66 seconds), the Aspark Owl (1.72 seconds), and the Rimac Nevera (1.85 seconds).

The Sandstorm’s lightning-quick acceleration – as well as its top speed of 300km/h – is the result of twin 118kW permanent magnet synchronous motors, according to the automaker.

This setup is powered by a 115kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that is covered by an 8-year warranty, which allows for a driving range of 500km.

With the correct fast charger, Ararkis states that an 80% top-up is possible in just 30 minutes, and at a standard wall outlet, it replenishes to 100% in 13 hours.

The body and chassis are constructed out of aluminium alloy, carbon fibre, and other composite materials to minimize weight, and the cabin features premium materials such as magnesium-aluminium alloy finishes, Alcantara textiles, and carbon-fibre reinforced seats, though recycled plastics and other environmentally-conscious elements have also been used.

A few of the features confirmed for the model so far include a Bose stereo, an LCD infotainment system with onboard navigation and smartphone connectivity, customizable driving modes, and an advanced driver assistance system with items like a surround-view camera and adaptive cruise control.

Of course, none of this will come cheap.

The Sandstorm has a starting price of $2 million or R38 million, but given the market it’s targeting, it likely won’t be difficult for Ararkis to form a list of 20 individuals who’d want to get their hands on a car as rare and technically impressive as this, especially since each model will be individually tailored for its owner.