Leapmotor reveals performance brand, but will it come to the UK?
Leapmotor is set to enter the electric hot-hatch game, with the recently-unveiled B05 being the first car to get the souped-up treatment
Leapmotor has unveiled plans to develop a performance brand called Ultra, with the newly unveiled B05 hatchback the first car to get the hot-hatch treatment.
Although detail is scarce following Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming dropping the surprise mention into the end of the brand’s Munich Motor Show press conference, he later confirmed to Auto Express that modifications will take in both performance and styling.
The image flashed up on the motor show screen showed a close-up of a chunky rear wing for the newly unveiled B05, known as the Lafa 5 in China, and Jiangming said the interior will also also get a “more luxurious” upgrade, although the brand is yet to even reveal the cabin of the regular B05.
As yet, no Chinese carmaker has tapped into the performance market as part of its brand-building attempts, with most new companies trading on the technology fitted to their cars. With electric cars, the hot hatch activity among electric vehicles has been left to the likes of Hyundai’s N branding, Alpine and Abarth.
Ultra will launch in China next year and is yet to be confirmed for the UK, but the B05 Ultra would likely follow on at least a year behind the base car’s 2026 arrival in Europe.
Coming next year, the B05 hatchback is Leapmotor’s fourth new model, joining the baby T03 city car and C10 larger SUV that the brand launched into the UK with last year, with the B10 SUV – sister car to the B05 hatch – arriving this November.
The B10 is likely to cost somewhere just below £32,000 - prices will be announced in the coming weeks - with the B05 coming in at less than £30,000 when it launches next spring. Spec details for the B05 are yet to be confirmed, but it uses the same underpinnings as the B10, which has a 215bhp powertrain and an official range figure of around 260 miles. The better aerodynamics and slightly lighter weight should see the B05 improve on that range figure, and the 6.8-second 0-62mph time.
While the B05 is yet to go on sale, did you know you could save up to £1,800 on a brand-new Leapmotor T03 or £4,400 on a Leapmotor C10 when you buy through the Auto Express Find a Car service?
