Oshawa-developed Project Arrow concept car making Canadian debut at Auto Show

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Published February 6, 2023 at 9:57 am

APMA President Flavio Volpe with the Canadian-made Project Arrow concept car

Project Arrow, the first Canadian-made zero-emission electric vehicle and a labour of love developed at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, will open Media Day of the 2023 Canadian International AutoShow this month.

The futuristic car will be at centre stage during the opening events of the show’s media preview event on February 16, and will be showcased for the duration of the 11-day event in the South Building at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The Project Arrow concept car is the result of a collaboration of more than 50 partners, led by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA), and made its global debut January 5 at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

“Here’s an honour that the 10 year-old me would have NEVER believed,” Flavio Volpe, the APMA President and driving force behind the project, enthused on Twitter. “Come see what the automotive future looks like!”

The Auto Show is the first Canadian stop on a two-year tour of auto and technology shows for Project Arrow.

“The AutoShow has always been a showcase of the latest innovations in the automotive sector, and is the perfect stage to show off Project Arrow,” said Auto Show General Manager Jason Campbell, who added that they have tracked the growth of alternative fuels in the automotive industry for the past half-century. “It is exciting to have an entry in that game from Canada.”

No arguments there, Volpe said.

“Project Arrow is a ground-breaking showcase of Canada’s most advanced zero emissions, lightweight, connected and autonomous automotive technology,” he said. “Inspired by the incredible innovation story of the Avro Arrow, the concept vehicle prototype project was launched as a platform for vehicle of the future technologies, developed, commercialized, and built in Canada.”

Ontario Tech was selected by APMA as the lead academic institution for Phase 2 of the project, an all-Canadian engineered concept funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and was home to the top-secret and visionary national engineering project for the past two years.

The university was chosen as the build partner due to its global reputation for excellence in energy, automotive, smart mobility and engineering research expertise.

It was also selected for its ACE core research and testing facility that features a world-class automotive prototype build capacity and a Climatic Aerodynamic Wind Tunnel that has the capacity to simulate extreme cold and powerful windstorms. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science professors, undergraduate and graduate students, and engineering technical staff helped prepare the Arrow for the full range of harsh Canadian weather conditions.

The concept car is expected to see production by 2025.

The Canadian International AutoShow will run from February 17-26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto.

Video link: Behind the scenes of Project Arrow development at Ontario Tech University

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