Another new Electric car!
Electric Lightning GT
The Lightning Car Company is producing a £120,000 supercar that runs on electric power only.
It will have a range of 188 miles, and be rechargeable in as little as 10mins.
It will go from 0-60 in 5 seconds, and have a limited top speed of 130mph.
So whats the fuss? Doesn’t the Tesla do this already?
Well yes… and err… no…. you see, the Lightning has 4 engines.
Yep…. you heard me right.
There is a separate engine in each wheel, that powers just that wheel. This means that there is no weight of differentials, driveshafts, gearboxes or any of the other complex mechanics that make a normal car go.
There is of course some very clever electronics that sort out power distribution, and handle the possibility of engine redundancy (when one engine fails, the car would continue to operate on its remaining 3 without effecting the handling)
Interestingly, when the car decelerates, it also charges its own batteries back up by using the energy from the momentum of the car. This means that in city driving where you would brake more often, you are constantly trickle charging the batteries back up again.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that its a SUPERCAR ? Yes… that also means it looks absolutely stunning. Like a cross between an Aston Martin and a TVR.
And the best bit? apart from the batteries, the whole car is being built in the UK. In the midlands to be exact.
You can order one now… and they expect them to be on sale in 2010. By jove… isn’t that just months away? !!!
Take a look at their rather stylish website
This is all good stuff, but I cant help wondering which car company will start making something similar (with the same technology) for the masses.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a real choice in being less reliant on fossil fuel?