The Ora Funky Cat, which will shortly go on sale in the UK, might be our favourite new car name of the year. So how will the Chinese EV firm follow it up? Simple: meet The Next Ora Cat. And yes, that really is what it’s called.
While The Next Ora Cat is undoubtedly a strange name, look past that and this is a pretty serious electric saloon designed to rival the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Polestar 2. And Ora has confirmed that it will come to the UK at some point next year – although it will be renamed when it does.
Like the smaller Ora Funky Cat hatch, there’s a whiff of retro Porsche-esque design to The Next Ora Cat, along with some very promising electric tech.
Styled as a four-door coupe, the Next Ora Cat features an elongated bonnet and a tall, rounded cabin with a steeply sloped rear. There are frameless doors and a panoramic sunroof, while it sits on 19in wheels as standard. The oval-shaped front and rear lights continue a design trend started with the smaller Funky Cat.
The machine features a four-wheel-drive powertrain – likely using two electric motors, although this hasn’t been confirmed – that offers 300kW or power and 500lb ft of torque. That gives the machine a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds, and it has a top speed of 112mph. Maximum power can be enjoyed by pressing the ‘Super Sport’ button on the steering wheel.
Power is drawn from a 83.49kWh battery, which gives an official range of 267 miles. While the firm hasn’t given details of charging speeds yet, it days a 0-80 per cent charge on an 80kW DC charger will take 55 minutes.
The Next Ora Cat is 4871mm long and 1862mm wide, which makes very close in size to the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and a bit bigger than the Model 3.
The dashboard features a 10.25in digital instrument display and a 12.3in central touchreen. Ora also says the model will get 360 degree cameras, an 11-speaker sound system, intelligent air conditioning and a UV sterilisation system.
The firm hasn’t given any indication about pricing for The Next Ora Cat yet – or what name will be used for the final production version. In China, the model is known as the Ora Lightning Cat. Readers of a certain age might be holding out hope for it to be called Thunder Cat, but well have to wait and see.
For reference, the Volkswagen ID 3-rivalling Ora Funky Cat is priced at £31,995 in the UK.
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