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Origins
Roland Gumpert returned in 2021 under Chinese-backed Aiways patronage with the Nathalie, named for his daughter and powered by conviction as much as chemistry: a methanol fuel-cell system continuously recharging batteries feeding four motors — over 500 horsepower, with refuelling in minutes rather than charging hours, proposing methanol as electromobility's practical bridge. The 300,000-euro-plus coupé promised 800-kilometre range and supercar pace from a technology nobody else dared productionise. Deliveries remained scarce as the venture navigated its backers' turbulence, and the methanol infrastructure the concept required never materialised. The Nathalie endures as a fascinating dissent — a rally legend's argument that the industry chose the wrong electrons, made in aluminium and carbon, at commercially fatal sincerity.
Gumpert Nathalie Genf 2019 1Y7A5053 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
