“With the Carice TC2, we want to create art on wheels,” Niels van Dril and Richard Holleman, founders of Carice, say. “Elegant, environmentally friendly, agile and handmade. We distilled the car to its purest form, and everything in there has been created with love and an eye for detail.”

“We’ve brought the essence back into driving, with a car of only 630 kg and a range of more than 300 km. It’s about feeling the ride in every fiber of your body,” they add.

Keep it simple and… light

This purely electric retro-cabrio is incredibly light, weighing in at just 630 kg. Carice developed its own platform to achieve this. It’s a so-called backbone chassis with a tubular frame between the front and rear axle that houses the battery pack. “It gives an excellent, low center of gravity and a nearly perfect weight distribution,” says Holleman.

Carice buys its own battery cells and has created the battery packs. There are two of them, 22 kWh or 31,5 kWh. The electric motor develops 41 kW/55 hp. Thanks to that extremely low weight, performance is still spirited, and the range is some 300 km with the largest battery pack.

“We see EVs getting heavier and heavier,” explains Holleman. “We want to keep it light and nimble, which makes a good drive. We retained everything that was necessary and left everything else out. We wanted to return to the essence of driving, with the looks of yesterday but the future technology.” A philosophy cherished by Colin Chapman in those booming after-war years when he created Lotus.

Artful

The car looks retro in and out. The round headlights remind us of the Porsche 356, but they have modern technology with a central lens and a ring of LEDs around it. Mini lovers will surely recognize the Minilite wheels of the original Mini.

The interior is very compact and vintage. Small leather chairs, a dashboard in brushed stainless steel, toggle switches all over it, even for the ‘transmission’ control. All instruments are nicely analog, and the logo seems a small piece of ‘art nouveau’, with a tulip in the heart of it, the factory being based in the heart of that flower region.

No place for a radio, an LCD screen, or an airco. Too complicated and heavy. There’s no steering wheel or brake assistance either. “That’s not necessary in a car of this weight,” says Holleman. “In the beginning, it will feel a little heavier; after a while, it will feel more real and lively.”

Not cheap

There seems to be a (small) niche for this kind of car. The first series of Carice TC2, reserved by clients who have placed an order during the development phase, is already sold out. These clients can expect delivery of their Carice soon.

Carice is now accepting reservations for the next production series. The Carice TC2 is available from €44 500, excluding VAT and will be produced in limited quantities. That’s far from cheap for such a small car, but the interest is real. “Our target group has no real profile, but the first buyers love beautiful things that are also green,” says Holleman.

Who is Carice?

Carice BV is specialized in the design and production of lightweight electric cars. They develop their cars entirely in-house, including chassis and bodywork. The company started in 2011 as one of the high-tech start-ups from YES!Delft and Delft University of Technology.

Initially, the company produced electric cars in small quantities on a made-to-order basis. In recent years, Carice has been working on a completely new car and an assembly line at their Voorhout, the Netherlands factory.

The Carice TC2 is a unique product of Dutch origin, trying to combine modern technology and artisanal craftsmanship. In the past years, Carice has worked hard on the new car and expanding their factory.

In 2011, they produced their first electric cars, although in limited numbers. They decided to develop a new car and set up a complete production line to meet demand. They can now independently produce cars in series, where they can control quality and continuity in-house.