This Chinese 1287bhp, 205mph 'Trev' Hybrid Is A Turbine-Fed Beast

There is nothing in the world that appeals to our inner 10-year-olds more than adding the words ‘turbo’ and ‘jet’ to things. Welcome your inner child to the Techrules Ren RS.

This thing is crazy fast. Many electrically-driven cars have one motor. Some have two. Really quick ones might have three. The Chinese-engineered Ren RS has either four, or if you’re feeling really brave, six. This six-motor monster has two motors on the front axle and four on the rear, delivering a frankly absurd 1287bhp.

That means it’s good for serious supercar performance despite not having gears. A single speed is all it needs to launch to 62mph in 3.0 seconds on the way to a 205mph top speed. As technical achievements go, that’s impressive. Plus, it says TURBO JET on it, so we love it.

The single-seater uses a clever turbine-based range-extender hybrid drivetrain. This Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle setup – TREV, for short (stop laughing at the back) – employs the diesel-fuelled turbine to drive a generator that then replenishes the surprisingly small 28kWh battery.

Claimed range is in the region of 727 miles per 80 litres of diesel, or about 41.3mpg. Obviously it’s not likely to worry a Prius in the efficiency stakes, but a Prius can’t do 205mph…

We don’t have the figures for the four-motor TREV yet, but expect it to be less fast and a little more frugal. A show car will be at the Geneva Motor Show next month.