In 2016, British company Young Driver Motor Cars introduced an electric vehicle for children called the Firefly. The company has launched a follow-up to that model with another electric car for kids aged 4-10 and it’s called the Firefly Sport.
Set to “encourage children’s interest in cars and driving from an early age, while educating them about road safety,” the Firefly Sport will be the UK’s first EV as it will only use components sourced from the UK for the series car, including batteries and electric motor.
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Even the team behind it is British, including Steve Rawson, former Aston Martin, who was in charge of the Firefly Sport’s production engineering, and former JLR and MG engineer, Dr. Ian Pogson, who developed the powertrain.
The Firefly Sport looks like a scaled-down roadster with an optional all-weather roof. It comes with an aluminum chassis, paired with an independent suspension setup and rack and pinion steering for an authentic road car feel. Inside, the car has customizable digital instruments that show speedometer, clock and range indicators.
The Firefly Sport’s powertrain involves twin 24-volt electric motors and a 12-volt recyclable battery. The maximum speed depends on the gearbox selected, but the fastest small EV that can be reached is 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour), while the youngest drivers can only reach speeds of 7 mph (11 km/h).
For safety, the Firefly Sport comes with a remote cut-off function with a range of 200 meters (656 feet). It also has an automatic cut-off feature when it detects obstacles in its path.
The Firefly Sport is now available for test drives at 45 Young Driver training centers in the UK, costing £20 ($23.66) for a 15-minute test drive. It can be purchased outright, at a price announced during the British Motor Show.
