Payne: Hammer down in the Chinese-made, all-electric Mullen GT sportscar

Pasadena, Calif. — The electric Qiantu K50 lives.

In the parking lot of Santa Anita Park horse track. On an autocross course. On a Tuesday afternoon. Like a thoroughbred from a starting gate, I exploded out from under a pop-up tent into a tunnel of pylons. ZOT! I was in top of the first turn in an instant.

Boy, wish I had this kind of torque when I autocrossed go-karts in West Virginia parking lots as an 11-year-old.

The last time I saw the Qiantu (pronounced Shan-too) was in the lobby of the 2019 New York Auto Show. Heady times. The electric supercar was one of a wave of Chinese autos that were due to the U.S. market in 2020, including the BYD shown at that year’s Detroit auto show and the Byton M-Byte displayed at the Los Angeles show. None of them made it.

But the Qiantu was striking, turning heads in the Big Apple with its sleek lines, unique black lamb chops, and low nose. Mullen Automotive, the car’s U.S. distributor, still believes and has rebadged it the Mullen GT — a halo car for its electric stable of EVs that includes the Bollinger B1 pickup and B2 pickup, Mullen One (rebadged Class One cargo van made by China’s Wuling Motors), Mullen Three (rebadged Class 3 vehicle made by China's largest automaker, SAIC Motor), and the home-brewed Mullen 5 and 5RS SUVs. Think of Mullen as the Island of Misfit Electric Toys.

Gathering the explosive GT up like a wild stallion, I pulled the reins back (the steering wheel still bears the Qiantu dragonfly logo) and brushed the brakes into a looong carousel turn on the makeshift parking lot course. At around 180 degrees in radius, carousels are half-skid pads that are wonderful tests of a car’s balance. The Mullen pushed off the entry to the turn, but a brief lift transferred weight to the front and brought the rear end around. Back on throttle, I felt the all-wheel-drive system’s tenacious grip as I exited the corner and immediately entered a long right hander.

Oh, man, this sports car is heavy.

The quick change in direction challenged the supercar’s balance and exposed the biggest issue facing electric performance cars: battery mass. EVs like the Mullen GT are rocket ships in a straight line — a Tesla P90 briefly made me dizzy the first time I tested it 2.3-second 0-60 mph hole shot — but the same battery mass that spins electric motors to crazy torque numbers is the enemy at high g-loads.

It's why Formula E has struggled to match the dynamism of gas-powered series like IndyCar and why race series owners like Roger Penske have written off electrics as feasible race series (not to mention the other battery bug-a-boo of range-sucking speed).

Even with an aluminum chassis and carbon-fiber skin, the AWD Mullen GT tips the scales at 4,300 pounds — or a bit more than my Tesla Model 3 Performance sedan. Oof. It’s also why few established supercar manufacturers have gone all-electric, choosing hybrid formats instead where smaller battery packs complement the gas engine with low-end torque like a supercharger. Think the Corvette E-Ray.  

While rumors exist of a Chevy Corvette EV, the $150,000 Mullen EV’s peers are largely exotic, multimillion-dollar machines like the $2.1 million, 258-mph Rimac Revera or $2.5 million, 1.7-second 0-60 (ow, my brain hurts) Pininfarina Battista.

The GT initially promised numbers to rival those cyborgs — sub-2 second 0-60 mph time, 200-mph top speed — but Mullen has backed off those ambitious numbers. Now its claimed 4.2-seconds 0-60 and 125-mph top speed are nowhere near the top of the class, but neither is its sticker price.

The world of technology is moving fast and the Qiantu — er Mullen — now trails the sleek, four-door, 2023 Kia EV6 GT which runs to 60 mph nearly a second faster and costs less than half as much. It’ll run rings around the Kia, though.

After a quick right-left chicane, I was back on the throttle downhill and under a bridge (Santa Anita has a BIG parking lot) into a hairpin turn where the brakes gripped like a Rottweiler on a postman’s keg. Impressive. Especially as the Mullen doesn’t appear to make much use of its regenerative braking.

Mullen’s interior design is four years old, but the cockpit is still a modern place to be with its twin digital screens — the dash display a big, 15.6-inch, Model S-like vertical design. There’s also an integrated, roof-top solar panel that powers the 12-volt battery. But for 150 grand, the GT’s graphics are dated and it lacks features like a camera mirror (which would be nice since it has rear blind-spots the size of Rhode Island).

Throttle to the floor, I drifted beautifully with my electric dance partners across a wide, 90-degree lefthander on my way back to the makeshift paddock. The Pirelli P Zero rubber can’t quite stick the Mullen’s 4,300 pounds, but the T-shaped, lithium-ion battery is anchored low in the chassis for good center-of-gravity.

Taking over from Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Huaguan (some 1,000 have been built in China), Mullen planned in 2020 to build the car in a California plant that hasn’t materialized. Mullen has production plants in Indiana and Mississippi. If the GT gets the green light for production in 2025-26 (Mullen is asking for a $1,000 deposit upon ordering) it’s a nice flip on the usual script of an American-made product being produced in China.

As I rolled to a stop back at the tented paddock, I popped open the GT’s twin charging ports — like Mickey Mouse ears — located aft of the B-pillars. The left port for a 240-volt home charger, the right for a Level 3 DC fast charger. Range is estimated at 230 miles on a single charge with a sticker price to match the now-defunct BMW i8 plugin hybrid sports car. 

White space sales opportunity — except the electric Porsche 718 sports car is due on the same 2025 timeline.

Next week: 2024 Toyota Tacoma

Mullen GT prototype

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, two-passenger supercar

Price: $150,000

Powerplant: 78-kWh lithium-ion battery with twin electric motors

Power: 430 horsepower

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.2 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 125 mph

Weight: 4,300 pounds (est.)

Fuel economy: EPA est. NA; range, 230 miles

Report card

Highs: Unique looks; rare, all-electric sports car

Lows: Uncompetitive performance specs; due at same time as 2025 Porsche 718 EV

Overall: 2 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne. Catch his “Car Radio” reports on 910 AM Superstation.