Believe it or not, electric cars were one of the first automobiles to become street worthy. During the dawn of the 20th century, as more cities possessed electricity, there was a deficit in the number of available petrol stations. People, especially doctors, took to electric vehicles since they could travel as well as power up their portable devices with their cars. Remember, this was a time when very few urban establishments had proper electricity.
Now, more than a hundred years later, electric cars are making a comeback in almost all manners of automobiles. Partly because of the rising crude oil prices, which is sure to run out in the near future. The most impressive of all is how a few of them are beating the gas-guzzling hypercars at their own game.
Here are five of such icons that are sure to impress any petrolhead:
1. Tesla Roadster
Perhaps the most well-known in the genre, Tesla Roadster set the benchmark for the electric supercar as far back as 2005. With revolutionary Li-ion batteries providing 200 Kwh, the car can go from a standstill to 60 mph in a staggering 1.9 seconds(which is even faster than the Bugatti Veyron).
It has a range of 620 miles on a full charge, which if needed can be covered with a top speed of 250 mph. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has announced the next generation model in 2020 will be even better, so we just have to wait and see if the company lives up to its promise. It certainly has big plans, especially with its self-driving vehicles.
2. Ariel P40
After the success of the Atom and the Nomad, Ariel has given some thought to the hypercar market and announced that it would begin production of the P40 in 2020. Sticking to its tradition of a lightweight chassis, the car weighs around 1600 Kg with its aluminium monocoque suit. It sounds rather super when you take into consideration the 1180 bhp electric motor, which can propel the car from 0-100 mph in 3.8 seconds.
Another four seconds and the car is traveling at 150 mph.
Thankfully, the top speed is restricted to 160 mph. Otherwise, your girlfriend might lose all her makeup in the rear windshield. The car has a four-wheel drive from a 295 bhp motor on each wheel, all powered by a 56 KWh liquid-cooled battery pack. Ariel claims it can do laps of 15 minutes by charging it for 50 minutes. The car will cost around 200,000 GBP or 256,000 USD.
3. Lamborghini Terzo Millenio
The Terzio Millenio (which means 'Third Millennium' in Spanish) is something of an off-beat from the traditions of Lamborghini. The fact that it is made with collaboration from MIT's Denca research lab makes it stands out even in the eco-car section. There is little information about its specifications. What is known is that it is made of special carbon fiber that "self-heals" in case of any external damage.
The electric charge is stored in the body itself, and it uses super-capacitors, instead of motors, to drive the wheels, since they are faster in charging and discharging energy. There is an onboard AI (I wonder if it's called JARVIS) which drives the car around by itself around a pre-scanned track, and then helps to improve the performance of the driver by "ghost riding" around the circuit through the HUD.
With such a pinnacle in technology for the automotive world, everyone shall be excited to see it unveil late in 2020.
4. Rimac Concept One
The lesser-known Croatian supercar manufacturer has finally made it to the news with the creation of its EV magnum opus, the Concept One. This beast packs 1072 all-electric horsepower. Weighing in at just 1800 Kg., it has the same power-to-weight ratio as the Enzo Ferrari. It also has four-wheel drive with four separate motors driving the wheels and a fully adjustable pushrod-operated double wishbone suspension. With such a punch packed beneath its surface, it can accelerate from zero to sixty in 2.6 seconds and has a top speed of 221 mph. It can certainly tear down most of the supercars if you show up with it on a track day, all day long since its 82 kWh batteries can take it well over 200 miles when fully charged.
5. Aspark Owl
With so many electric hypercars emerging from the Western Hemisphere, this almost unknown Japanese manufacturer seeks to change the status quo. The Aspark Owl is fully intended to give the Tesla Roadster a run for its money. It uses ultra-capacitors instead of batteries to save up on charging time and reduce power delivery time. Thanks to its lightweight carbon fiber chassis, it weighs just 850 Kg. All this, combined with the race-spec Hoosier tires, gives it a phenomenal zero-to-sixty time of 1.6 seconds. The top speed is a not-so-catchy 174 mph since it only has a total of 430 bhp. The range is also quite limited, about 93 miles, but it makes up for it with a quick 5-minute full charge. It is best to enjoy a couple of laps and have a short coffee break showing off the specs to burn the other drivers if this car is your choice for a day at the speedway.
1. Tesla Roadster
Perhaps the most well-known in the genre, Tesla Roadster set the benchmark for the electric supercar as far back as 2005. With revolutionary Li-ion batteries providing 200 Kwh, the car can go from a standstill to 60 mph in a staggering 1.9 seconds(which is even faster than the Bugatti Veyron).
2. Ariel P40
After the success of the Atom and the Nomad, Ariel has given some thought to the hypercar market and announced that it would begin production of the P40 in 2020. Sticking to its tradition of a lightweight chassis, the car weighs around 1600 Kg with its aluminium monocoque suit. It sounds rather super when you take into consideration the 1180 bhp electric motor, which can propel the car from 0-100 mph in 3.8 seconds.
Another four seconds and the car is traveling at 150 mph.
3. Lamborghini Terzo Millenio
The Terzio Millenio (which means 'Third Millennium' in Spanish) is something of an off-beat from the traditions of Lamborghini. The fact that it is made with collaboration from MIT's Denca research lab makes it stands out even in the eco-car section. There is little information about its specifications. What is known is that it is made of special carbon fiber that "self-heals" in case of any external damage.
The electric charge is stored in the body itself, and it uses super-capacitors, instead of motors, to drive the wheels, since they are faster in charging and discharging energy. There is an onboard AI (I wonder if it's called JARVIS) which drives the car around by itself around a pre-scanned track, and then helps to improve the performance of the driver by "ghost riding" around the circuit through the HUD.
With such a pinnacle in technology for the automotive world, everyone shall be excited to see it unveil late in 2020.
4. Rimac Concept One
The lesser-known Croatian supercar manufacturer has finally made it to the news with the creation of its EV magnum opus, the Concept One. This beast packs 1072 all-electric horsepower. Weighing in at just 1800 Kg., it has the same power-to-weight ratio as the Enzo Ferrari. It also has four-wheel drive with four separate motors driving the wheels and a fully adjustable pushrod-operated double wishbone suspension. With such a punch packed beneath its surface, it can accelerate from zero to sixty in 2.6 seconds and has a top speed of 221 mph. It can certainly tear down most of the supercars if you show up with it on a track day, all day long since its 82 kWh batteries can take it well over 200 miles when fully charged.
5. Aspark Owl
With so many electric hypercars emerging from the Western Hemisphere, this almost unknown Japanese manufacturer seeks to change the status quo. The Aspark Owl is fully intended to give the Tesla Roadster a run for its money. It uses ultra-capacitors instead of batteries to save up on charging time and reduce power delivery time. Thanks to its lightweight carbon fiber chassis, it weighs just 850 Kg. All this, combined with the race-spec Hoosier tires, gives it a phenomenal zero-to-sixty time of 1.6 seconds. The top speed is a not-so-catchy 174 mph since it only has a total of 430 bhp. The range is also quite limited, about 93 miles, but it makes up for it with a quick 5-minute full charge. It is best to enjoy a couple of laps and have a short coffee break showing off the specs to burn the other drivers if this car is your choice for a day at the speedway.
