Ian Wright is betting big on electric cars. Not just any electric car: his car can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds! In the first matchup, the X1 crushed the Ferrari in an eighth-mile sprint and then in the quarter-mile, winning by two car lengths. In the second race, against the $440,000 Porsche, the two cars were even after an eighth of a mile. But as the Porsche driver let out the clutch in a final upshift, his tires briefly lost traction. The X1, blazing along in its software-controlled performance mode, beat the Porsche by half a car length. It never occurred to me that I would lose," says Kim Stuart, the Porsche's driver. "It was like a light switch. He hit the pedal and was gone." If the car looks familiar, it's because Wright builds his car from off-the-shelf parts. The chassis is actually that of British-made Ariel Atom, previously featured in Neatorama a while ago. Business 2.0 | company website | Photo:Flickr user thomas pix' photoset. |
A zero emissions car has to do more than go fast. But, performance is a serious step in finding acceptance.