Image: Riz Akhtar
The Ora Lightning Cat – the electric sedan inspired by Porsche designs – has been spotted in Melbourne, parked alongside its highly anticipated stablemate, the Ora Funky Cat electric hatchback which is also going through tests on Australian roads.
The spotted pink EV has charge ports on both sides and happens to be the left-hand-drive version of the Lightning Cat.
The interior of the Lightning Cat fastback sedan looks similar to the ORA Funky Cat with what looks like ventilated seats on offer.
Previously, the Lightning Cat was known as the Grand Cat , and appears to follow Porsche’s styling and design language on its four-door Porsche Panamera.
The Ora Lightning Cat also comes with four battery packs supplied by Svolt Energy which is also a subsidiary of GWM.
The capacity of the packs are 63.87 kWh, 64.31 kWh, 79.62 kWh and 83.49 kWh with NEDC range from 555km to 705 km. Converting to WLTP cycle, expect the range to start at 450 km which is ideal for a four-door EV in 2023.
The battery packs can power its dual-motor version with 300 kW of power. This can get the Lightning Cat to 100 km/h from a standstill in around 4 seconds. The single-motor variant delivers 150 kW of power.
The same battery pack can deliver a range of up to 450 km of WLTP range for the dual-motor setup. The top speed is also limited to 180 km/h.
The Ora Lightning is 4,871 mm in length which is longer than the 4,694 mm length of the Tesla Model 3 which is the best-selling EV model here in Australia. It’s also 600 mm longer than the Funky Cat hatchback model.
It’s currently unclear whether the Lightning Cat is here in Australia for country testing or if there are bigger plans to bring it to Australia in the near future.
The configuration spotted seems to be in the early phases of testing since it still hasn’t got any testing plates on the rear.
Previously, Porsche-inspired Ora Lightning Cat EV was launched in Europe starting at under $A41,000.
The Lightning Cat in markets like Europe is expected to come standard with ORA-Pilot 3.0 driver-assisted systems. The system contains an array of 28 sensors, cameras and radar.
This will give buyers confidence and will meet many of the current EuroNCAP requirements to ensure it hits the 5-star safety rating.
We look forward to seeing more interesting EVs from challenger brands and aside from the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, the electric sedan market is wide-open in Australia.
Video of the 2023 Ora Lightning Cat features on YouTube:
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
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