THE SPARROW STORY
The New Sparrow Prototype of 2016
After a long development effort, the newest Sparrow prototype was on the road in 2016. At the time, the Corbin research and development team was working on final modifications, and the company announced plans for limited beta test cars to be built in 2017.
From the Sparrow archive. Product plans, events and availability described here belong to the original historical period.
Reborn with an AC drive
The redesign began with Mike Corbin's own car, number 100 from the original production, which was converted to a new AC drive system for testing. The 2016 prototype took that drivetrain into a new body and chassis with a lithium-ion battery pack.
Mike drove the prototype for a little under a year while the team refined the suspension and electric drive. The car later received a two-tone repaint and interior updates before appearing at trade and auto shows in late 2017. The beta program described in period announcements was a historical offering from that era, not a current one.