2.8s QUANT e-SportLimo – Design Shootout vs Porsche 918

Why so curious about this car’s origin and vision? A few things seem a bit unusual. Let’s dive into the salty blue of QUANT together.

We knew suspected from first seeing this car’s badge that it comes with a large beer-mug of Bavarian heritage: the Quandt (with a D) family is a major controlling shareholder in the BMW Group. Along with the Porsche’s and the Piech’s — these are some of the most revered industrial dynasties in Germany. And also some of the most shielded and private.

But is the BMW-board-dominating Quandt family even involved in this “Quant” project? That remains to be seen. But keep reading to find out my strong hunch by the end of this article.

The Quant e-SportLimousine asks my brain more questions than any of its official literature can answer, at least to the every curious and skeptical minds in this office.

QUANT e-SportLimo — HYPOTHETICAL ORIGINS/DESTINATIONS

— Why is this name so similar to the Qaundt family name? Germans do not often make mistakes like this.

— Does NanoFlowCell (a brand-new entity promoting a new type of salt-water-derived battery/fuel cell) exist outside concept cars and prototype technology?

— If there is a BMW connection, why go to such great lengths to dis-associate with BMW’s largess?

— Is Bosch AG really the big ‘actor’ behind the scenes? (Likely also part-owned or, at the very minimum, heavily invested-in by some of the big family powerhouses named above?)

— Bosch Engineering is located in Stuttgart, but NanoFlowCell based in Lichtenstein — founder is Swiss-born Nunzio La Vecchia

— Bosch is officially La Vecchia’s series-production partner.

— Bosch is one of the savviest and smartest OEM suppliers in the world, and has every interest in marketing a new fuel-cell innovation in a fully-running prototype.

But overall, what really nagged at me is how similar this car’s appearance is to the Porsche 918 Spyder. Was this an aborted Porsche 929 concept, re-branded and rolled out onto the Geneva show floor anyway? Stick with me a moment here while I logic through this one:

— The 918’s plug-in hybrid tech certainly seems like it has similar specifications to the Quant e-SportLimo specs shown below.

— Porsche is widely believed to have a Panamera Coupe in the works, so adding 929 as the badge is plausible as an evolution of the Porsche 928 front-engined-GT legacy.

— Panamera S e-Hybrid already firmly in production as world’s first plug-in limousine.

— If the BMW/Quandt connection is true or at all possible, did they snap up this tech to help launch a new EV super-luxury brand?

— Is dropping the Quandt family “D” in spelling simply a way to offer a more internationally-friendly QUANT brand name that preserves some family privacy as well?

— Or is QUANT, as a name a simple nod to Quantum Physics and a bitch-slap from the Piech and Porsche clans to the Quandt clan all in one?

One thing IS clear, however: Where-ever this car came from… or is going in the future — it certainly has a large marketing budget to build its momentum.

You do not see Giugiaro debuting their wacky designs with big-budget films like these:

We will investigate this riddle wrapped in a high-tech mystery further in the coming days — and correct any speculations above at that point.

UPDATE: I now believe that all of the above companies are collaborating together: Bosch AG as the official partner, but Porsche and BMW firmly in the mix as a joint project. This is unconfirmed.

Until then, below are design comparisons of the QUANT e-SportLimo side-by-side with the Porsche 918 Spyder, a car that shares much of the QUANT’s e-SportLimo’s organic form language.

NOSE and FRONT 3/4 ANGLES

SIDE PROFILE ANGLES

TAIL and REAR 3/4 ANGLES

QUANT e-SportLimousine Tech Specs

DIMENSION AND WEIGHT

kerb weight with full tanks: 2,300 KG
wheelbase: 3,198 MM

WHEEL AND TYRES

front: 245 x 30 R22″
rear: 285 x 30-22″
rolling resistance optimised
width: 2,019 MM
length: 5,257 MM
height: 1,357 MM

 

BODY

door system: two double wing-safety-doors
door openings: 865 MM x 2,068 MM
side window: 400 MM x 1,830 MM
body type: monocoque
seats: four, front and rear adjustable