A new ‘electric supercar’ touted as a rival to American giant Tesla has been unveiled from weaponry manufacturer Kalashnikov.
The Russian maker of the AK-47 assault rifle showed off the CV-1 at Army-2018, a Russian arms show in Moscow.
The vehicle is very different from Tesla’s sleek modern-looking Model S, taking its inspiration from classic Soviet-era vehicles.
“We are talking about competing precisely with Tesla, because at present it is a successful project in the field of electric vehicles,” Kalashnikov spokesperson Sofia Ivanova told Russian news website RBC.
“We expect to at least keep up with it.”
The firm says its car features a 90-kilowatt battery pack and can travel 220 miles on a single charge. Tesla’s Model S has a 335-mile range.
The CV-1 accelerates from 0-60mph in just over six seconds compared with the 2.5s of the Model S.
Kalashnikov, which is thought to also be developing an electric motorcycle, does not exclusively make guns but has a four-metre-tall combat robot in development called ‘Little Igor’.