Chevy ad compares Spark EV with Ferrari 458 Italia

Thu, 18 Jul 2013

Chevrolet's new commercial for the 2014 Spark EV emphasizes the little hatchback's performance over pretty much everything else, and it even goes as far as to compare it to a Ferrari 458 Italia. That's right, the electric bubble is pitched in the commercial as having a higher torque figure than the Ferrari – and it does, with a massive 400 pound-feet ready to be unleashed.

That doesn't translate into a quicker car, however, as the 458's V8 with 570 horsepower and not-exactly-quaint 398 lb-ft gives it a 0-60 time of 3.0 seconds compared to the Spark EV's 7.6-second run.

"We think the fun-to-drive element is an area for us to differentiate ourselves," Sam Basile, executive chief engineer for GM's global minicars and emerging-market vehicles, told Automotive News.

EV makers who aren't Tesla might want to take note of the Chevrolet ad, because, as the novelty of clean electric propulsion wears off, the Spark EV has planted something else in our minds: quick electric propulsion for the masses. That is, if its sales weren't limited to California and Oregon.

Watch Chevy's refreshing commercial below.

By Damon Lowney