Unveiling a Car
It's the evening of June 6th, and we're at a small coastal town in the Netherlands; Noordwijk. The scene is theatre "de Muze" and the room is packed. We've all come here for what is rather a special occasion; the unveiling of a completely new car.
The final minutes before the start of the show, co-founders Niels van Dril (L) and Richard Holleman.
For me the story started 6 years before that, when I made a test drive on a new part of the Delft campus in a small convertible that gave me a driving sensation I hadn't felt before. The car had been built by Carice, a small startup out of the university and I was hooked by their passion and enthusiasm for this concept; a lightweight, electric car with a beautiful classic design. I made a small investment and pre-ordered a car of their new series. It would be an improvement on the original in every regard, from design, to finishings to range. In software terms, a worthy 2.0.
We visited the team over the years, as the work progressed, challenges were overcome and a factory began to take shape, tucked away in the flower fields of Holland. Fast-forward past a pandemic, a lockdown and component shortages, and we arrive at the long-awaited unveiling of something truly unique, willed into this world by their never-ending optimism that this day would come.
And the day came. The theatre was packed, the car hidden under a large black sheet in the corner of the stage, ready for the reveal later on. They had done me the honour of asking me to open the evening, recounting how we met, the ideas that fuelled the creation of this car, their passion for building something at sustainable pace and do so in-house with their own hands. Having said my bit, they proceeded to recount the origins of their collaboration, the structural backbone design that houses the batteries and how the final exterior design took shape. They ended the evening with a dramatic reveal of the car which rode onto the stage away from under the big sheet to thunderous applause.*
Having built up the suspense, the car’s ready to be revealed. In the background one of the first prototype cars which also made a special appearance during the show.
After my opening I had to wait backstage until the show was over, but I had my camera** with me and tried to make the most of the awkward angle and the harsh purple stage light – hence the monochrome. I'm quite pleased with how the photos came out in the end though.
Over these years we had become friends, and so I may be biased when I say this, but the Carice TC2 they revealed is one of an elegance, beauty and style that surpassed all my expectations. I’m super proud to have played a small part in making this car a reality.
As much as I love what I do for a living, software is inherently intangible; servers need to be kept online, and how long does it really take for software to stop working as the pace of hardware inexorably marches forward? What they’re making here though is real, as real as the factory its made in, as real as the warehouse where all the required parts are stacked up high. Every time I’ve been able to pay them a visit it’s been a step into another world. A world with the harsh limits of physics, the harsh realities of supply chain shortages, but when the Carice TC2 drove out on stage it told us all it had been worth it. Maybe it will ride in a rally 40 years from now; a piece of art that can still be seen, admired and driven for a long time to come.
It’s not just a beautiful object, there’s a purpose to it design that appeals. Thanks to its lightweight design it can go over 300km on a battery of only 31kWH and due to its low centre of gravity, with the weight of all the batteries centred in its backbone, it makes for an incredibly fun and dynamic drive. If all goes well I'll be taking delivery of my Carice TC2 later this year – and I can’t wait – where I plan to take it out for a spin and share my experiences here.
Before the show started and the car had disappeared under the sheet I was able to shoot a few pictures of the car under more forgiving lighting circumstances, so if you’re curious, take a look at the gallery below. For my European readers, the Carice TC2 is now available for pre-order at caricecars.com. The first batch is sold out but they will undoubtedly make more.
* Special shout-out here to the unfortunate Tommy who'd been hiding in the car under the black sheet and hot stage lights there the entire show until it was time to ride onto the stage.
** All pictures taken with OM-1 and the 20mm F1.4 or the 12-100mm F4 lenses. At some point I’ll write a blog post singing the praises of this incredibly versatile 12-100mm F4 lens.