Test drive invitation: try the world's fastest electric boat

The Candela Seven electric hydrofoil is the first all-electric boat that rivals gas-guzzling competitors in range and speed. In little more than a year since its debut, it has become Europe's best-selling electric watercraft. Between November 30 and Dec 9, Candela is offering test drives to the media in San Francisco.

While electric cars have already conquered the roads, electric boats have so far been slow and lacking range. The reason is that traditional speedboat hulls are hard to convert to electric propulsion, even those that plane easily. The friction from the water is so great that even the best lithium ion batteries become drained after only a half hour of high-speed boating.

The Candela Seven is a 25-foot bowrider that can accommodate six adults for an exciting day on the water, whether cruising, waterskiing or just enjoying the thrill of all-electric performance. Built in Sweden of lightweight, high-strength carbon fiber, its real secret is that it flies like a fighter jet above the waves on high-performance, computer-controlled wings called hydrofoils. The design uses 80 percent less energy at 20-plus knots compared to fossil fuel powered speedboats.

Thanks to a 40 kWh battery from the BMW i3, the Candela Seven has a range of more than 50 miles, at 20 knots, nearly three times the range of the next-best electric boat on the market, and a top speed in excess of 30 knots. The boat can be readily recharged overnight at any typical marina outlet. A level 3 charge takes only four hours.

Specially designed hydrofoils give the Candela Seven other advantages besides high speeds and long range. A built-in computer flight controller adjusts the foil position up to 100 times per second, accounting for every environmental factor, including waves, wind, and even passengers moving around the boat. The ride in rough choppy water is thus as silky as on a lake at Sunrise with glass-smooth water. Sensors throughout the boat are fed into a computer program that can produce a safe, stable ride even in 30 knots of wind and in seas as high as three feet, leaving the most seasick-prone passengers with smiles on their faces.

After becoming the best-selling premium electric boat in Europe, the Candela Seven is making its debut in the United States, and a few boats have already have been delivered to customers in the Bay area.

Candela's goal is to scale its hydrofoil technology to ships and ferries up to 60 meters of length, reducing carbon emissions to nearly zero.

Members of the press are welcome to test drive the Candela Seven in San Francisco between November 30 and December 9. For an appointment, contact Mikael Mahlberg at mikael.mahlberg@candelaspeedboat.com or call +46 76 537 66 78. We promise it will be a ride you never forget!