Famed race car driver Roland Gumpert is back in the sports car space. This time, it’s with his own company (they share a name) and a unique creation – something that’s hard to find in the auto space these days. Meet Nathalie, a road-legal electric super sports car with performance handling that runs on methane. Yes, methane.

The car, which is named after one of Gumpert’s daughters, was first shown as a prototype in 2018, but is now ready for production, as a 2021 model.

Messaging from the company says that the model is, “an uncompromising electric super sports car. It is one of the fastest and most dynamic sports cars you can drive with a license plate on a normal road.”

The car is slated to achieve 536 horsepower and get from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. It has a top speed of 190 mph and a claimed range of over 300 miles in spirited driving situations. It is said to have nearly double the range when drivers choose to drive more conservatively using Eco mode.

Where does that power come from? It comes from methane.

In the Toyota Mirai, a fuel cell-electric powertrain uses hydrogen to move the car along the road. The concept with the Nathalie is similar, only instead of hydrogen, the car uses methane. It has a 17.1-gallon methanol tank.

Methane is an abundant resource on Earth, most noted recently because of its existence as a byproduct of the digestion process of cows. BMW is also exploring the possibilities of methane, utilizing the manure from a farm in California.

How does a methanol fuel cell work? | Gumpert Nathalie | Roland Gumpert

www.youtube.com

Roland Gumpert will begin producing the model in early 2021, producing just 500 of them at first and they will be labeled First Edition models. The price tag sits at approximately $460,000.