The Vanda Dendrobium

At this year’s Geneva motor show, the Vanda Dendrobium is set to make its official debut. The car’s final specifications won’t be confirmed until March 9 when the covers are lifted, but it was built using the Bugatti Chiron as a performance benchmark. So expect a vehicle capable of hitting 100km/h in 2.6 seconds, of sending 1500hp to all four wheels and of a potential top speed of 400km/h.

However, it will differ from the Bugatti, and every other hypercar from the established builders on show at this year’s event in one major respect. This car will be a plug-in electric vehicle rather than a V12 or W16.

“Dendrobium is the first Singaporean hypercar and the culmination of Vanda Electrics‘ expertise in design and technology,” said Vanda Electrics CEO Larissa Tan. “[It] is inspired by nature and rooted in technology, a marriage of design and engineering — I can’t wait to reveal the car to the world in March.”

Automotive history is littered with failed attempts at building dream cars that can compete with the likes of Ferrari and Porsche. Even marques as revered as Bugatti, Lamborghini and Aston Martin have experienced more than their fair share of financial hardships and bankruptcies on the road to supercar success.

Yet even against this historical backdrop, the Dendrobium could well prove the exception. Although Vanda Electronics is a new company, it is backed by Wong Fong Industries, an engineering company with a 53-year track record. What’s more, the car itself is being developed in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), the technology and innovation arm of the British based Formula 1 team.

The company’s involvement also means that following the recently revealed Aston Martin AM-RB 001 and the upcoming Mercedes-AMG Project One, the Vanda Dendrobium is the third road-going hypercar coming to market boasting in excess of 1000hp and a Formula 1 team as development partner coming this year.