Wrightspeed X1 outruns jet-engined VW Beetle in drag race
Former Tesla engineer Ian Wright has developed a super-quick electric vehicle called the X1. It's still a concept car and test platform but runs 0-30 in less than 2 seconds and 0-100 in just 6.8 seconds. No doubt it's fast, and a short video shows it blowing away a VW Beetle with a jet engine in its tail.
What? You heard right. Now, if I'm going to hold a stunt to publicize the amazing quickness of my vehicle, I'm not going to match it against a vehicle that is quite interesting and will draw attention away from my pride and joy. I want to know more about this VW. It doesn't look as if this small jet adds a whole lot of thrust to the car but it's got a flaming butthole that will stop traffic at every cruise night I've attended. And a word to the timid photographer; get a little closer. I've been right on the starting line snapping pics of two fullsize jet dragsters blasting down the 1320. You may lose a hat and get your hair mussed but you're not going to be a flambe dessert. Anyway, too bad the race wasn't at a sanctioned drag strip so we could get the times.
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[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Peter 2:58PM (3/29/2007)
The jet Beetle is another garage special by a Silicon Valley engineer, Ron Patrick. See his website here:
http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/
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Joseph 5:42PM (3/29/2007)
Why did this guy leave Tesla anyway?
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Tony Belding 6:08PM (3/29/2007)
Nobody has spoken about why he left Tesla, and I haven't heard about any sort of animosity on either side.
For whatever it's worth, my impression that Ian Wright is focused like a laser on building maximum-performance sports cars and naught else. That's in contrast to Tesla's philosophy of trying to become, eventually, a full-line car company. You might say Martin Eberhard wants to become the next Henry Ford, while Ian Wright wants to become the next Colin Chapman.
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Franco Folini 5:36PM (4/09/2007)
Ian Wright, CEO of Wrightspeed, and the X1 electric prototype were recently featured at a BAIA (http://www.baia-network.org/ Business Association Italy America). After the event I had the pleasure to interview Ian asking him questions about the new high performance sport car he is planning to build. The complete interview is available on BAIA blog (http://blog.baia-network.org/baiablog/2007/04/an_interview_wi.html).
Franco Folini
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