After the original Tesla Roadster, the market for new electric sports cars just kinda stopped. In the somewhat attainable realm, meaning not a hypercar or supercar, nobody was really looking into that niche, and it left us wondering who’d fill that void. The MG Cyberster is neat, but it also weighs as much as a medium-sized building. A two-ton sports car? I don’t think so. For a while, it looked like Porsche would be the first player here, but between setbacks in Germany and advancements in China, the forthcoming electric Porsche 718 isn’t the first truly modern reasonably attainable electric sports car. Instead, it’s something from tuner Feng Xiaotong with assistance from Xiaomi-backed EV company JMEV called the Small Sports Car SC01, and it looks spectacular.
The first thing you need to know about the Small Sports Car SC01 is that its name actually means something. At 161.7 inches long, it splits the difference between a Mazda MX-5 and a Toyota GR86, rides on a 2.9-inch shorter wheelbase than the GR86, has a roofline 2.5 inches shorter than that of an MX-5, and sits wide — 72 inches across. Add it all up, and yeah, that’s small. Then there’s the weight. Even with an electric powertrain, the Small Sports Car SC01 weighs just 3,009 pounds. That’s nearly 150 pounds less than a flat-six-powered Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, and the way it got there is classic sports car stuff.
It starts with the chassis — not a monocoque or a fancy carbon tub, but an old-fashioned tubular spaceframe. Think Countach, Ariel Atom, and the gullwing Mercedes-Benz 300SL. It’s not fancy aluminum either, but instead chromoly steel, a time-honored tradition still used in some forms of racing today. Then there’s the battery pack, a somewhat small but still adequate 60 kWh unit that isn’t under the floor like in most EVs, but instead stacked behind the passengers. This allows for a lower driving position and while it does raise the center of gravity, a 15-inch center of gravity is three inches lower than in a Toyota GR86, and nobody’s accused that thing of being top-heavy.
Let’s turn back to the high-voltage system for a second because despite the 60 kWh battery pack, range actually seems reasonable. The SC01 claims to be good for 323 miles on China’s CLTC cycle, and while that definitely doesn’t translate to EPA figures, it’s about 50 miles short of what a long-range Volkswagen ID.4 is good for, and that’s rated at 291 miles of range on the EPA cycle. That sort of rough ballpark isn’t bad for a sports car. Plus, with dual electric motors kicking out 429 horsepower, the all-wheel-drive SC01 should scoot to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds. I get that acceleration isn’t the main selling point here, but it’s nice to know this thing’s bonkers quick.
Oh, but straight-line speed isn’t even remotely the most interesting part of the Small Sports Car SC01. It has pushrod-actuated double-wishbone suspension at all four corners and comes with adjustable dampers, so owners can dial in their preferred settings. It rolls on magnesium wheels weighing just 13-pounds each, and six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers clamping 13.8-inch discs should offer serious braking capacity. No gimmicks here, just a no-nonsense trend that even extends to the interior.
Inside the SC01, you get three knobs for your climate control, a bank of cockpit-style switches in the windshield header rail, a digital gauge cluster, six speakers, a mechanical handbrake, and that’s about it. No central infotainment screen, no ambient lighting, no bloat. All the interior money’s been spent on some nice speaker grilles, some carbon seats, and actual buttons, exactly what sports car people want.
Now it’s time to get to the best bit. In its home market of China, the Small Sports Car SC01 costs around $31,900. No, that’s not a typo. Even with a 100 percent tariff, this thing would still be competitive in America, filling a price gap between models like the Nissan Z and Chevrolet Corvette, while also giving Lotus some interesting competition. While a huge part of the SC01 coming to market is China’s bonkers investment in EVs, it does make you wonder what future electric sports cars from Western automakers might look like. Hopefully like this, although I doubt you’ll see an electric Porsche or Lotus for under $32,000 anytime soon.
Top graphic credit: Small Sports Car
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If there were a modern Stratos, this would look like the GTA knock-off of it.
Just wanted to say thanks for doing this comparison. It really does help put the CLTC numbers in perspective.
Lack of any infotainment screen? All electric?
They should totally partner with Slate and sell them in the US.
Except for the side scoops, it looks like a cross between an Evora and a Stratos.
definitely Stratos vibes
It’s like an EV Lancia S2000.
Why is there no American company building something like this? I refuse to believe there aren’t enough sportscar people left who want a sub 3 sec car for sub $35k.
When built here or by a legacy automaker, it won’t cost anywhere close to $35k for one. Two: total sales between the Miata, BRZ twins, Vettes, Mustangs, and 911’s totaled 114,335 in 2024. That’s a tiny market to break in to, especially when most new sports car buyers want dino juice power.
I don’t know. Last year Ford sold just 44k Mustangs, but figured it was worth it. And no Mustang does sub 3s. Now the price is another issue. It can’t just forever be the cost of Chinese labor.
Tube Chassis work is extremely expensive, which is why no high volume vehicles use it. Mentioning it’s a 3s 0-60 car, sure that’s fast but that’s the only trick we know it has. No idea if it actually handles well, we just assume it does based on the stats. Will it end up so stiff for handling purposes that it rattles your teeth loose? Will it fall apart after a 15k miles? No one knows.
Back to price, a large reason it would be so much more expensive here is American engineering is extremely expensive. Not just talking about the vehicle, but also all the infrastructure to build and assemble it.
yes. please.
This car and the SS Summer van would make for a great garage. As for place of manufacture, I’ve transitioned from American to Japanese and then Korean vehicles. It may soon be time to try Chinese.
Wow! Great stance, perfect styling, good size. DO WANT.
Can I have a RWD-only one with 215bhp and 0-60 in 6 seconds? That’s still more than I need for a fun daily driven sports car.
I know that would make it cheaper and extend the range a bit, but those ate compromises I’m delighted to make.
That would be the beauty of a well designed EV platform; configuration.
AWD isn’t an entirely new drivetrain, so neither is RWD
I don’t ever see myself buying a Chinese car (no need to get into why) but this thing is a looker to be sure. The one thing that I LOVE is that they managed to not put in a massive dumbass tablet grafted onto the dash. That is a proper driver’s cockpit. But, alas….
It’s not exactly Miata light, more like Toyaburu twins light, but otherwise, I like it. This is a move in the right direction and if available in the US, I’d consider buying one. The two door sports car space is more or less underserved by electric offerings, which really could make sense as the performance is there and most people don’t do long range trips in a little sports car.
Fun fact, Renault holds a 50% stake in JMEV. So there might still be a way for the SC01 to make it to the west, probably as an Alpine.
The interior is cribbed from Mazda, and the rear from a 20-year-old Corvette.
The Miata was designed to recreate the look, feel, fun and handling of the classic British sports cars, without the leaks and breakdowns.
This Chinese design is interesting and creative, but it certainly is not a Miata.
I want THIS…
…but more narrow, lower roof, more reclined occupant positions, and greatly more aerodynamically streamlined(< 0.3 m^2 CdA), with about 200 lbs less battery mass and 300 lbs less vehicle mass(due to vehicle size shrinkage), but same horsepower.
Think less Miata dimensions/proportions, more Alfa Romeo Disco Volante coupe dimensions/proportions. Except batshit insane powerful like a TVR. Should have 40 kWh on board coming in at under 2,500 lbs and getting 300+ miles range at 70 mph.
If this were available in the US for under $60k, I’d be very tempted. It is 500+ lbs heavier than I’d like.
In that case I suggest you go for the Miata.
Since this isn’t a vehicle that is 500 pounds lighter than you want.
Or perhaps a McLaren, they seem to be pretty light as well.
None of those are electric. This is. Wish the OG Tesla Roadster wasn’t so expensive.
To my eye, there isn’t much more you can shrink/lower the roof or streamline the frontend, they did a good job reducing frontal area and making it look like a car-shaped limpet. It could definitely be narrower (delta side-impact protection) and I think the rear could use some Cd help. Lose the front drive unit and use newer battery tech and you might be able to shave 200# or so.
And *that* would be a sports car worthy of the name.
A Miata equivalent this is not. My ND weighs in at 2,300 lbs…700 lbs less than this car. The SC01 is roughly 30% heavier than a current Miata.
I get the GR86 comparison, I suppose, but this is not a lightweight vehicle. I do agree it’s a huge step in the the right direction though.
Miatas don’t have 429 hp and won’t go from 0-100 in 2.9s. This is a different car.
In China there are near zero Miatas/MX5s. Only supercars come close to this power/weight ratio and while, say, a Tesla is very fast, it isn’t a sports car. This is.
With it’s acceleration it can actually challenge many supercars from the last decade.
That is extremely laudable.
Too bad we will never see it in the US nor at this price point.
US automakers could make a similar or better electric car at the same price point, 15+ years ago, if they wanted to. China merely exploited low hanging fruit with this.
“you think gas is expensive now, just wait until you’re forced to drive an electric vehicle!”
Every time Detroit had the chance to do the right thing, they did the lazy thing.
They did the thing that “maximizes shareholder value”. Car companies aren’t out to make cars, they’re out to make money. And they aren’t merely happy with turning a profit, but maximizing the margins in the next quarterly report. That is the problem.
We’re about 25-30 years behind on EV mass adoption vs where we could have been, and the ICE offerings are consuming roughly 2x more than they should have been for the last 80+ years, given the knowledge and technology that has been available.
Everyone was laughing at Tesla, until they didn’t and then everyone tried to catch up, but not with … full conviction. Because every manufacturer before Tesla, and even now, is still 99% ICE. They didn’t take it serious, they didn’t WANT to change, they were hoping for it to be a fad, electric cars, or perhaps lobbying with the administration to kill it, like they’re doing now (tax incentives etc).
The CN gov’d supported their industry, they provided capital, they gave incentives (not that high actually, IIRC) and they did something relatively unique to China ; they made new license plates for electric/hybrid cars, which would allow for toll-free driving, free parking (!) and in some cities ; being able to drive on days which were often banning petrol cars. In Beijing, as far as I know, you basically cannot drive with your car, inside the city center, half of the days of the week, it is a odd/even thing or so. With the electric cars – you could drive all you want. And you could get a license plate, which is a lottery which can take 6 months, immediately.
All “small” changes which boosted the demand for electric cars without breaking the bank.
Imagine US cities full with EV cars, quiet, no pollution, often with ‘safety stuff’ close to FSD (not saying FSD is great, but it helps a bit preventing smaller accidents, IMHO). You cannot retrofit FSD on an older ICE car, but nearly every EV can get lane keeping, automatic braking (distance) etc retrofitted if needed.
Just the noise and the pollution should be welcomed.
I’m fine if everyone in the countryside drives large block V8s doing 15 mpg – that is fine there. The noise, pollution – it doesn’t “really matter” when the next neighbor is 2 miles away. Or 20.
And range anxiety can be a thing, if you aren’t savvy enough to plug your car into an outlet 🙂
This is the first electric car that I stopped and thought I may like to own that some day… Yet another reason that I am happy to be living in China!
Buy one and report back.
For me to own one, I would have to get rid of my Camaro first.
I already have one license plate to my name, and getting a second license plate is nearly impossible. My wife, a Beijinger, has been in the license plate lottery for over 10 years and still doesn’t have her own- she has a car but is renting someone else’s license plate… I was lucky and bought my first car before those laws were in effect.
Had I seen that was coming I would have bought a fleet of cars…
However, I deeply embedded in the car scene here, so I hope that I can get my hands on one for a test drive when they come out…
When that happens, I will report back!!
Well I live in a burgeoning kleptocracy where the rule of law is quickly becoming a dead note, but at least the government can’t tell me how many fuckin cars I can own! (Provided they are all in working condition, stored properly, and not in violation of any nuisance, zoning, or homeowner’s association rules.)
That’s one thing I like about Michigan. Much easier to own a car, except the insurance on my car there is crazy considering its only on the road maybe one month a year.
As for Beijing, they did that with intention of trying to keep pollution and traffic congestion down. Which is crazy because of how much they are pushing the local automotive industries to sell, sell, sell. But like every stupid law, people find a way around it.
Love everything about the looks except the Hypnotoad taillights
Yeah, feels like the only misstep. Well, Dave mid-engine has a good point about the door handles.
ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD! LONG LIVE THE HYPNOTOAD!
It needed a Ferrari 250GTO breadvan sort of look to make those rear lights work. I like similar rear lights on sports cars(Lancia Stratos, Alfa Romeo 4C, Ford GT. ect), but they aren’t used right in this one.