World's quickest electric car

[KBCraig]

It runs quarter miles in the mid-11's. No, it's not some super-exotic from a high-tech lab. It's a... well, you just have to see it to believe it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369h-SEBXd8

[akmisrmaadi]

zzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzz

107mph trap is not fast. the instant torque gets it off the line fast. that base model c6 probably trapped 115

electric cars just aren't the same no matter how "fast" they are. which they really are not. that little tiny shit box with a decent small block would be much faster.

tiny death mobiles just aren't my thing

[KBCraig]

Trap speed doesn't count in drag racing, only who crosses the finish line first. (Even the fastest ET doesn't matter if the driver is too slow out of the hole.)

Almost everyone he raced had a faster trap speed, but that should be expected when he's driving something with the aerodynamics of a brick. If he put a similar package in a C5 or C6 'Vette, I imagine he would have  gain a few tenths on the ET, and at least 10 mph in the traps.

Anyway, mid-11s is smokin' fast for a street legal car, especially one that is very driveable.

[akmisrmaadi]

11s is fast, but c5 and c6 corvettes both have more power than that electric car.

trap speed doesn't matter in drag racing but higher the trap the faster than car, maybe not the quickest...

but no, c5 and c6 corvettes have more than 300hp so it would actually be slower. i doubt all the batteries and electric motor weight less than a all aluminum lsx motor.

i dont really have anything against electric cars, but i would like the option to keep my internal combustion engines

[KBCraig]

11s is fast, but c5 and c6 corvettes both have more power than that electric car.

And yet, one lost to a '72 Datsun 1200 electric. 

[Lloyd Danforth]

Back in the day I had electric 'slot cars' faster than that!

[Tom Sawyer]

slot cars were fun... they were all the rage for a while.

I knew a kid who had one of those big commercial tracks in the basement of the apartment building his dad owned.

[akmisrmaadi]

11s is fast, but c5 and c6 corvettes both have more power than that electric car.

And yet, one lost to a '72 Datsun 1200 electric. 

must be because electric is magical

[Roycerson]

Drag racing is worse than Nascar.  The land speed record belongs to a jet car.  Is that an argument for jet powered passenger vehicles?  hell no

Also, in that video they said the car didn't create one ounce of pollution.  Bullshit, that electricity was generated somewhere.  I'm not saying I have a problem with electric cars, just the integrity of the filmmaker and the idea that an electric dragster has anything at all to do with the viability of a real electric car.

[akmisrmaadi]

[280]

Battery powered cars are still quite far from being financially viable for the car builder and the consumer.

[Pat McCotter]

Wow! Some people really hate electric vehicles! Is it something in your past that caused this? Or is it just that electric vehicles and whacko environmentalists go together? Or are you afraid Obama is going to mandate electric vehicles for everybody?

A few years ago I converted a 1985 Mercedes wagon to run on straight vegetable oil. I didn't do it to save the environment; I did it to save money on a 120-mile round trip commute. It cost me $800 to install the system and three hours per week collecting, settling and filtering the oil. I used diesel fuel to warm up the veg oil - two miles of driving and I shifted fuels. Two miles before I reached my destination I shifted back to diesel to clear the fuel lines of veg oil. Yes, vg oil was - and still is - a hands on fuel but I drove 8000 miles on that system without a hitch and saved that much in fuel costs.

Most driving in this country is around town driving. You are getting 2000-5000 pounds worth of machinery in motion to haul 100 to 500 pounds of payload (people and goods) 20 to 30 miles a day. Go  ahead and tell me that the cost of that fuel - and the resulting pollution cleanup - is cheaper than the cost of making electricity - and cleaning up the pollution from that electricity generation - for the equivalent trip.

Yes, we all make longer trips than 20-30 miles. Use the gas/diesel vehicle for them. Go ahead and use your vehicle for the short trips, even. But don't get on a rant because you don't think a vehicle that sounds like a sewing machine should be able to go as fast as a 300-500 horsepower muscle machine.

[280]

As far as a high torque car for a 12 second drive in a straight line, I think the electric car is pretty cool, but its no more practical then any other drag car that may or may not run on 110 octane. Yes you can make a crazy high powered electric car, but the technology isn't far enough along to have both high power/fun and a usable range.

When it comes to a usable daily driver, most people do not want to spend $40-$50K on a vehicle thats used for a 20-30 mile per day trip. Especially when you can get a car that is just as practical for a fraction of the cost that is either a hybrid, a frugal gasoline powered car, or an oil burner (most of which are still illegal in the states).

I'm not trying to put down electric cars or the technology. I am all for alternative power sources in cars, but I'm just putting this in perspective. Like I said, the technology is not advanced enough to make an electric car a feasible replacement for most peoples daily drivers.

As for me, I don't see enough value in these types of vehicles yet to satisfy the needs in my life "yet." In the not so distant future I hope to replace my daily driver with an electric car, or at least a hybrid. As for my weekend warrior/track car, I'll stick to my good ol' carbon emitting 1983 inline 6 internal combustion engine for a long time to come.

[Pat McCotter]

Battery powered cars are still quite far from being financially viable for the car builder and the consumer.

By "car builder" do you mean the major manufacturers? Toyota and Honda started the trend with hybrids. That market has taken off. The biggest hurdle is government regulation of every aspect of automobile manufacture - to protect you and me, the consumer.

Another hurdle for electric vehicles is consumer perception. People don't buy anything they don't need, want, like or perceive as being needed, wanted or liked. American diesel vehicles in the 70's were loud, smoky and unreliable so today the American perception of diesel vehicles is loud, smoky and unreliable. Europe has been using diesel vehicles a LOT. Diesel fuel in Europe is cheaper than gasoline. Yes, taxes were adjusted to cause this to happen and, no, I am not saying we should adjust taxes to engineer society to use drive a certain way. European diesel vehicles are quiet, cleanER, and last a few hundred thousand miles.

It takes people like the veg oil users, biodiesel users, ethanol users and, yes, electricity users, to show that something can be done, A few years ago, vegetable oil was being pooh-poohed as "That;s nice, but where can I pump it?" Now, there are many stations where you can get biodiesel fuel - look for Rhymes oil stations in NH.

It takes folks like the guy in the video and many others who are converting vehicles to run on battery power to show others it can be done. And BTW, the cat in the video is not the world's fastest street legal electric vehicle. It may be the cheapest but the T-Zero and Tesla are also street legal - at over $100,000 a copy - and have outrun many gas-powered muscle cars.

[Pat McCotter]

As far as a high torque car for a 12 second drive in a straight line, I think the electric car is pretty cool, but its no more practical then any other drag car that may or may not run on 110 octane. Yes you can make a crazy high powered electric car, but the technology isn't far enough along to have both high power/fun and a usable range.

When it comes to a usable daily driver, most people do not want to spend $40-$50K on a vehicle thats used for a 20-30 mile per day trip. Especially when you can get a car that is just as practical for a fraction of the cost that is either a hybrid, a frugal gasoline powered car,

When cars first came on the market nobody but the rich or hobbyists (nerds?) wanted anything to do with them. Then a few years later many houses had two or more. And they are part and parcel of our world.

When radios first came on the market nobody but the rich or hobbyists (nerds?) wanted anything to do with them. Then a few years later many houses had two or more. And they are part and parcel of our world.

When televisions first came on the market nobody but the rich or hobbyists (nerds?) wanted anything to do with them. Then a few years later many houses had two or more. And they are part and parcel of our world.

When computers first came on the market nobody but companies or hobbyists (nerds?) wanted anything to do with them. Then a few years later many houses had two or more. And they are part and parcel of our world.

Now that electric vehicles are on the market nobody but the rich or hobbyists (nerds?) want anything to do with them.

or an oil burner (most of which are still illegal in the states).

Diesel cars are legal to drive in all 50 states. They are legal to buy in all states except those who follow California emissions standards and maybe a couple of others. And some of those states still allow registration of diesel cars.

I'm not trying to put down electric cars or the technology. I am all for alternative power sources in cars, but I'm just putting this in perspective. Like I said, the technology is not advanced enough to make an electric car a feasible replacement for most peoples daily drivers.

No, not at this time in the technology curve. And, not as a replacement for a household's vehicle but maybe a replacement for that 2nd or 3rd household vehicle?

As for me, I don't see enough value in these types of vehicles yet to satisfy the needs in my life "yet." In the not so distant future I hope to replace my daily driver with an electric car, or at least a hybrid. As for my weekend warrior/track car, I'll stick to my good ol' carbon emitting 1983 inline 6 internal combustion engine for a long time to come.

And have fun doing it! I would be there right beside you if I could.