It seems like pretty much every major automaker has some sort of electric car on the road or coming very soon. It's getting to the point where EVs are virtually indistinguishable from their gas-powered counterparts.
Daymak doesn’t seem to be following that philosophy, however. The company has just unveiled the Spiritus prototype, and it’s… different, so say the very least. Not only is it a three-wheeler, it also promises crypto-mining capabilities.
- The best electric cars you can buy right now
- 9 essential tips for buying an electric car
- Plus: Tesla has an ambitious new plan to triple the number of Superchargers
We already heard about the Daymak Spiritus earlier this year, with an Ultimate model that promises to be able to beat the Tesla Model S Plaid by going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 1.8 seconds. Now we’ve actually been shown the car in the flesh, along with news on some of the other features it’ll have.
However, the weirdest thing to note isn’t that the car only has three wheels. That is a pretty strange design choice, granted, and three-wheeled cars are pretty much extinct outside of ‘80s British sitcom reruns. It’s the fact that it also has crypto-mining capabilities. Yes, really.
The Spiritus’s interface will come with crypto-mining hardware and all the relevant software already installed. The idea is that when the car is parked up it will use Daymak’s Nebula suite to mine cryptocurrencies to earn the owner some extra cash.
Aldo Baiocchi, president of Daymak, claims the company envisions “a future where your highway tolls, your parking and your drive-thru order will be paid directly on the fly with crypto," later adding "Your online bills and your banking can be handled through the same software platform paid in crypto. And whereas most vehicles are depreciating while they sit in your garage, the Nebula Miner will make you money while your Spiritus is parked."
In other words The Daymak Spiritus sounds less like a car, and more like a bank on wheels. A bank that will, allegedly, be able to generate its own currency. And it doesn’t matter which model you buy, since both Spiritus models offer the same crypto-mining capabilities.
It screams of being a gimmick, which is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from someone like Elon Musk. But despite Musk’s reputation, and his supposed love for crypto, even he hasn’t started letting people mine coins with the Tesla’s onboard computer.
There's more to it than crypto mining
The Spiritus prototype has room for two people, and the cheaper $19,995 Deluxe model promises 180 miles of range from a 36 kWh battery and a top speed of 85 miles per hour. Meanwhile, the $49,000 ‘Ultimate’ model offers 300 miles of range from an 80 kWh battery, a top speed of 130 miles per hour and the coveted 1.8 second 0-60 time.
While battery sizes and charging speeds haven’t been confirmed as of yet, the Spiritus Ultimate is set to come with Daymak’s Ondata wireless charging system. So far wireless charging cars have been a bit of a fantasy, but we are starting to see it promised on future EVs — like the Genesis GV60.
Other features listed include a smart key system, a companion app and scissor doors on the Deluxe model, while the Spiritus Ultimate also promises autonomous driving, and a screen “for co-pilot experience”.
The Daymak Spiritus is currently aiming to start delivering cars in 2023, and reservations are open right now. The Spiritus Deluxe requires a $100 deposit, while the Spiritus Ultimate requires dropping a $50,000 deposit to secure yourself the premium three wheeler.
- More: Should you buy a used electric car? Everything you need to know
