Electric car faster than a Ferrari and Porsche Carrera GT!
Ian Wright a former Cisco engineer has built an electric car the X1which blows away a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Porsche Carrera GT in a drag race! With a 0 to 60 time of 3 seconds it can only be bested by the $1.25 million dollar Bugatti Veyron and it's 1000-horsepower, 16 cylinder engine (it's a half second faster).
The Wrightspeed X1 uses Lithium-ion batteries and a high-power electric motor to give three major benefits:
Energy efficiency equivalent to 170 mpg (using the CARB conversion factor*).
Zero oil consumption (electricity does not come from oil).
Fast, accurate and precise control of torque (no clutch, torque converter or gears needed).
Wright is a 50 year old New Zealand native who's electric car the X1 is about to be made into a small production roadster that gear heads and thrill seekers will be able to take home for about $100,000. Wright has started a company, Wrightspeed, in Silicon Valley to custom make and sell the cars. The key Wright says to being successful and keeping cost down is his cars ability to use off the shelf parts for almost all aspects of the X1, even the quarter ton of batteries the car uses.
Last November, the X1 was taken to a Norther California drag strip to see how the prototype car would do against traditional high performance street cars. Wright was confident that winning would be a problem on paper but no real world test had ever been preformed.
In the first race the X1 beat a Ferrari 360 Spyder in both an 1/8 mile and 1/4 mile race winning the later by two car lengths. The second race against Germany's fastest street car the Porsche Carrera GT was a little closer with the X1 only winning by a half of car length. The driver of the Porsche Kim Stuart said "It never occurred to me that I would lose. It was like a light switch. He hit the pedal and was gone."
Whats next for Wright and the X1? Currently he's starting to look for investors and he's convinced that a production version of the X1 can be produced that will meet federal safety standards, has a 100-mile range and will recharge in just 4.5 hours. But key to the success of the X1 and for that matter any electric vehicle is continued improvement of battery technologies that will yield higher mileages, quicker recharge times, and better battery life.
X1 Prototype Specs
• 3-phase AC induction motor, 236hp at the motor shaft
• 182 ft lbs torque at the motor shaft, from 0 rpm to 6,000 rpm
• 13,300 rpm rev limit
• weight 1,500 lbs
• no clutch, single gear ratio 8.35:1
• Quaife limited slip differential
• Alcon front calipers, 4 piston
• Dymag Magnesium Alloy wheels
• inboard Bilstein race dampers, Eibach 2-stage springs
• steering: rack and pinion, 1.5 turns lock-lock
• Lithium Ion battery pack
Performance
• 0-60 ~ 3.0 seconds
• Standing quarter mile ~11.5 seconds
• Top speed 112mph (electronically limited)
• Range >100 miles in urban use
• Charger: onboard conductive. Input 100-250V 50 or 60 Hz. Current: user adjustable up to 80A
• Energy consumption 200 WHr/mile in urban use, equivalent to 170 mpg (33,705 WHr/gallon)
Wrightspeed X1 Atom electric vehicle Ferrari Porsche
Comments
Not the greastest looking car but sure is fast. I know that kind of sucked for loser. They had exotic's
Posted by: Cool Car Images | May 6, 2006 03:13 AM
A quick car for sure, but the text is somewhat misleading. Firstly, several cars will beat the Wrightspeed's 0-60 time. The Ultima GTR certainly will. Even the Ariel Atom, the car upon which the Wrightspeed is based, will run 0-60 in 2.8 seconds using an internal combustion inline 4 cylinder.
Second, the article makes it seem as though the reason the car is so quick is the electric drivetrain. The real reason the car is so quick, and can easily beat most exotic sportscars, is the power to weight ratio.
Michael Shannon
Author "Computer Secrets I Taught My Mom" ISBN 0-9773105-0-7
http://www.smartguypress.com
Posted by: Michael Shannon | May 8, 2006 08:32 AM
wow. now if they can just make it look better than a ferrari...
Posted by: Jenny McLane | May 8, 2006 09:49 PM
exterior is not the main thing in a sports car. the main thing - is a horse power!
and this car is well hpowered! :)
love it
Posted by: crayzeee | May 10, 2006 03:45 AM
Im an aspiring car designer who is passionate about "performance" EV and hybrid tech and this is a neat showcase vehicle. It validates my hybrid car design thesis that relies more on the electrical side for perfomance. (www.phrancis.com)
But it's not a fair comparison since a super car has to be high performance, street legal, asthetically pleasing, and yet expected to have some daily driving ability and convinience - Windshield, enclosed cabin, AC, trunk, etc... Although it sucks when I drive my F430 to the walmart and I can't see around all those damn SUV's. Atom drivers can't see around the ferarri's either, but they can get a bath and car wash at the same time (to get the bugs outta their teeth)
Replace the engine in another cararra GT with this EV drivetrain and race em. That would be a fair fight.
__________________
Posted by: Francis | May 10, 2006 10:12 AM