Russian arms maker Kalashnikov on Thursday presented its new electric car inspired by a rare 1970s model, saying the new technology will rival Elon Musk's Tesla and anything Dyson has in the pipeline.
The brand, best known for the AK-47 machine gun, presented the decidedly retro-looking pale blue prototype, the CV-1, at a defense expo outside Moscow.
A handout picture taken on August 22, 2018 and released by Kalashnikov media press office, shows a retro-looking pale blue prototype electric car, the CV-1, produced by Russian arms maker Kalashnikov, in Moscow (AFP Photo/HO)The look was inspired by a Soviet hatchback model developed in the 1970s called "Izh-Kombi," a statement on the Kalashnikov website said.
Kalashnikov said it has developed some cutting-edge elements for the "electric supercar", including a "revolutionary" inverter. The vehicle can travel 350 kilometres on one charge.
The company said in a statement on Thursday that the CV-1 car featured a number of "complex systems" with technology that would "let us stand in the ranks of global electric car producers such as Tesla".
It added that, when fully developed, the car would have a top speed several times higher than current electric vehicles produced by its firm and would be able to travel 220 miles (350 km) on a single charge.
As it is an initial prototype, details such as the vehicle's price tag have not yet been disclosed.
"We are developing our own concept of an electric supercar, which is based on several original systems developed by us," the firm said.
"This technology will let us stand in the ranks of global electric car producers such as Tesla and be their competitor," RIA-Novosti further quoted the Kalashnikov press-service as saying.
"We were inspired by the experience of global market leaders in developing our concept."
Kalashnikov has long been trying to expand its brand, recently launching lines of clothing and other civilian merchandise ranging from umbrellas to mobile phone covers.
Its foray into electric vehicles however was met with mixed reactions from Russians. Comments to the news on the company's official Facebook page ranged from "cyberpunk" to "Izh-Zombie".
"Your tanks are great, but it would be better if you stayed away from cars," one user wrote.
Earlier this week, online users ridiculed Kalashnikov's new bipedal combat robot. The golden-colour machine, reportedly named "Igorek" in production stages, immediately became a subject of social media memes.
"Somebody had watched too much 'Robocop'," tweeted user happy__keanu, referring to the 1987 action film about a cyborg law enforcer.