Overclocker

Which electric car has a quarter ton of batteries, a 100 mile range, recharges in 4.5 hours, and can best the nearly all the world's fastest cars in a 0 to 60 drag -- including the Ferrari 360 Spyder and Porsche Carrera GT? It's ex-Cisco and DEC engineer Ian Wright's Wrightspeed X1 electric racer, now second only to the 3-second Bugatti Veyron. Sound too good to be true? Well, it will set you back $100,000 and they're by no means commercial. But if for some reason you're looking for a better way to melt the skin off your face hitting 8Gs of blinding software-optimized electric horsepower, we've got the car for you.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/07/w...-fastest-cars/

Full story: CNNMoney.com and MobileMag


Before creating the X1, Ian Wright designed routers and switches for Digital Equipment and Cisco.


Engineer Ian Wright uses processors, flash memory and software to get top performance out of standard parts.


Just 15 inches long and a foot in diameter, the motor has only three moving parts -- the rotor and two bearings -- and redlines at 13,300rpm.


The X1 runs on 538 pounds of lithium-ion cells capable of generating 4,000 amps. The car has a range of 100 miles and recharges in 4.5 hours.


Using programmable flash memory and embedded software, the inverter constantly adjusts current flow to keep the motor in continuous peak-performance mode.


An in-dash touchsecreen displays battery levels, speed, G-forces and GPS navigation data.

BlkGS3

Looks like the Atom

Lexmex

I read the story on CNN as I was curious. The sheer weight of this thing also helps.

That half a car length over the Porsche has to be about .1 of a second or so in the 1/4 mile.

MGS4

in a few years, people will start modding their hybrid cars as if RC cars. swapping more powerful electric motors, changing lighter and longer lasting batteries, etc

twkid84

i wll take a porshce any day
i don't consider it a car
a high tech go-cart maybe