See the new Tesla fighters from SF Motors

SF Motors has unveiled the SF7 (left), SF5 (center) and its platform that will be made available to other carmakers (right).

The SF5 will come to market first with pre-orders in late 2018, the larger SF7 is merely slated for availability in 2019. Both are four-door coupe style crossovers that emphasize high performance.

The SF5's lines are audacious but also restrained by turns, not unlike the approach of the company to the EV market.

Glass everywhere, from a truly panoramic roof to the large windshield and a wide, horizontal display across almost the entire dash.

A signature detail of the SF Motors prototypes is this sharp conclusion of the side daylight opening (aka, side windows) at the rising hips of the car.

As with virtually every car made today, the fender lips are shaved smooth and the wheels are large and shod with low profile tires. Adaptive air suspension will help reduce the jarring road impacts those with pick up.

All crossovers have a certain upright presence, but this strong horizontal light band visually widens and lowers the SF5 from the back.

They aren't called suicide doors any more: SF Motors has skipped the elaborate falcon wing doors of the Tesla Model X and gone with a slightly more pedestrian opposing door setup that can open the entire side of the car.  

The SF5 is a two row vehicle, which immediately places it more in the personal luxury category than the true crossover utility range.

A strongly unified dash that is almost entirely glass-surfaced ties together its t-shape without a lot of clutter. A single knob is present, something that designers should think long and hard about committing to.

SF Motors has acquired InEVit, an electric car battery startup led by Tesla founder Martin Eberhard. No part of what this company's engineering teams will tackle is more important than solving the thorny issues that surround EV batteries.

The scratch build layout was never intended to be anything but an electric vehicle so it has been designed from the start to accommodate two, three or even four electric motors.

Electric motors are somewhat less of a vehicle differentiator than batteries, but still critical to the car's performance. SF Motors has combinations of motor and gearbox that range from 100KW to 400KW.

All the power conversion and control modules are also of in-house design to create a proprietary platform from charge to road.