Electric car of the future? I think not.
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What surprises me the most about this CNN Money article is the fact that the donor car on which the Wrightspeed X1 electric car is based on is not mentioned even once in the whole article. An electric car that can beat a Ferrari 360 Spyder or a Porsche GT is no major feat if it's based on an extremely light, bare-bones structure. The Ariel Atom, in standard gasoline powered configuration, will beat a Ferrari 360 and Porsche GT, since it weighs in at about one third of both the Ferrari and Porsche. It will also have significantly better fuel economy for the same reason. While the X1 sounds like a bundle of fun to drive around in, it does not showcase any major breakthrough in electric vehicle technology. The car has a 100 mile range, and requires 4.5 hours of charging. Maybe I missed something in the article?[Source: CNN Money]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Razib Ahmed 6:08PM (5/05/2006)
Well, from the description here, I am also not that much convinced either. I just wish that researchers give more time and energy to find more fuel efficient cars instead of strange vehilces like this one.
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hermes 5:12AM (5/06/2006)
This is not a strange vehilces. Its look great.
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Michael 6:12AM (5/06/2006)
I think that the plug-in hybrid is the car of the future.
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Andrew 7:12AM (5/06/2006)
You missed the earlier AC Propulsion t-zero sports car. It'll also out-accelerate Ferraris; and the latest version has a maximum range of 320 miles. Unfortunately, there's no plan to mass produce the t-zero; AC Propulsion is moving on to converting Scion xAs and xBs to electric vehicles.
http://www.acpropulsion.com/ACP_FAQs/FAQ_cars.htm
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Mad Scientist Matt 8:02AM (5/06/2006)
Actually, the article does mention that it's based on an Ariel Atom:
"For starters, you get all the basic parts off the shelf, starting with a chassis. Wright found one he liked in the Ariel Atom, a blazing-fast custom British roadster. By itself, all the hardware in the X1 is nothing new."
It does sound like a pretty fun car, but not exactly the most practical thing.
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