Most times, when we meet them in news and articles about an utopian future where ecological philosophy won the respect of environmental and industrial interests against corporate, the prototypes of electric cars developed by various eco-enthusiasts are small , ugly and awkward and their dismal performance leaves much to be desired. However, there is a “green hot elite”, a select group in front of which even a sleek Ferrari goes pale and nervous.
Which follows the rankings were based on the latest available information from manufacturers. When it comes to fastness (attention! not speed - although, in most models, the two issues go hand in hand), the only criterion by which we operate is the start - how long a vehicle reaches 100 km / h. Therefore, we didn’t took into account other important factors on which experts in the automotive field usually judge a car's general capabilities, such as autonomy, speed, interior amenities, availability market price. We should also add the fact that most cars in this top are in the prototype stage, not in mass-production market, and if they sell - some prices were exorbitant. However, the same can be said about elite polluting car that runs on gasoline, and the aristocratic and exclusive nature invites us to admire them even more, and on some and others.
1. Shelby Supercars Aero EV: 0-100 km / h in 2.5 s
It is a relatively new name entered the auto industry - the company was founded by American billionaire very ambitious Jerod Shelby, only 10 years ago. Gathering around him an excellent team of young and talented designers and engineers, Shelby was able to overthrow the already famous Bugatti Veyron on the position of fastest production car in the world by Aero TT model - approved by the Guinness Book record 9 October 2007, when American bolide reached no less than 413 km / h.
Satisfied and motivated by this record, Shelby wanted to repeat the performance vehicle, but this time in an eco-friendly alternative. Thus, in mid 2008, the prototype of the fastest cars appear green in the world, Aero EV. A truly revolutionary car, a new technology developed AESP (Scalable All-Electric Powertrain), which is based on a lithium battery pack, able to fully recharge in just 10 minutes from a regular source of 110 volt, U.S. which offers a range of 320 km! Batteries put into operation, two twin electric motors 1,000 hp / power that make this gorgeous green fireball to reach 100 km in just 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 334.7 km / h! The prototype is assessed at $ 500,000.
2. Electric Datsun 1972: 0-100 km / h in 2.95 s
Surprisingly, if this top was made only two years ago, the leading position was an electric car produced in 1972! Today, however, Electric Datsun is dethroned, although there is still on the podium, coming a respectable second place. The sedan "White Zombie", as nicknamed by its owner, was bought in 1985 for only 585 american dollars by John Wayland. Immediately after purchase, it started to upgrade and tune the car, giving it no more than 60 lithium-ion batteries of 12 volts, which have "swallowed" the trunk and back seat of the car.
20 minutes it takes for the batteries to be charged at full capacity, and their autonomy is 64 kilometers. But not the vehicle independence on the streets count , but the reason it has been rearranged for : to participate in national competitions drag (start), where he was champion for years, beating respected racing cars that run on gas, and Corvette and Porsche. Not handsome, "White Vampire”is extremely hot, reaching a hundred in 2.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 209.5 km. It is the cheapest car in the top, with current facilities is estimated at "only" $ 35,000.
3. Wrightspeed X1: 0-100 km / h in 3.07 s
The prototype looks like a hybrid between a car and a go-kart for the Indy-500, but it already has a strong and appealing resume, being cheered in the famous show Top Gear, two years ago, when he made an appearance in the landscape of hot rods green. It has also been the protagonist of an episode from the popular series on Discovery Channel, MythBusters, which, by means of 5 tests, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have wanted to demonstrate why an eco-car is better than a Ferrari. And they resusit: all five tests have been won by X1.
4. L1X-75: 0-100 km / h in 3.1 s
This is what we might call a ghost car. It seems that there is a single parent in the world, which was discovered in New York in 2007,by journalists from the U.S. magazine Popular Mechanics. They have also photographed him and have posted a video on their website to demonstrate that the green vehicle who walk in red paint is not just a chimera. Photo remained and spread on the Internet, but the video is gone ...
Since then, no one knows what became of him, although the makers of L1X-75, Hybrid Technologies Inc.. and Mullen Motor Company, also sent from time to time in press releases announcing what happens with the prototype. Of these, we found that L1X-75 has 600 horsepower, is developing a top speed of 281 mph and cost $ 125,000.
Runner-up three runs with a three-phase AC motor, which catapults it from 0 to 100 km in 3 seconds and has no gear lever - a single press on the gas pedal from reaching top speed: 180.2 km / h. It is powered by hybrid technology batteries, lithium polymer, not cheap (they cost only $ 40,000), which gives them a range of 160 km. Prototype value is estimated somewhere around $ 200,000.
5. AC Propulsion tzero Roadster 0-100 km / h in 3.6 s
He needs only 200 horsepower to sprung with great nonchalance from 0 to 100 km / h, thanks toa sturdy "body" but lightweight. In addition, he made numerous victims, surpassing in drag competitions (start + 400 meters) like Porsche 911, Corvette and a Ferrari F355, which beat it savagely with almost 20 feet!
Tzero is produced by Californian company AC Propulsion, has a range of more than "pretty good" (at least compared with other present from the top) of 482 km and cost an estimated $ 220,000. The price could be much more spicy, as AC Propulsion has produced only three such prototypes in 2003, to demonstrate that an electric car can be as quick and efficient, but inexplicably abandoned a plan to develop roadster software series. Six years ago, Tzero ranked 2 of this top.
6. Tesla Roadster: 0-100 km / h in 3.9 s
Until recently, a sports car produced in series to be as "sexy and equipped" as Bugatti Veyron, but to issue zero grams of carbon dioxide resemble a utopian environmentalist fantasy love speed. But the dream was fulfilled by Tesla Motors, which last year unveiled the Tesla Roadster, a towering fireball cross the 100,000-euro cent brags that reaches in 3.9 seconds and whose engine speed exceeds 13,000 rpm ( as compared to 7000 rpm can usually withstand a motor fuel).
The vehicle was assembled in San Carlos, California factory and uses the technical platform of Lotus Elise sports model, attaching to it any more, no less than 6,800 lithium-ion batteries. They give a range of 360 km, and their complete recharge takes 3 hours and a half. A Roadster Top speed is 201 km / h (electronically limited).
7. Eliica: 0-100 km / h in 4
Although it looks like a vehicle off a science fiction film category B, Eliica, with all its 8 wheels, accelerating faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo. Eliica (Electric Lithium-Ion Car) was invented by Japanese researcher Hiroshi Shimizu, coordinator of a team of engineers at Keio University in Tokyo, in late 2003
On the high-speed circuit in Italy, the bolide caught a top speed of 370 km / h, but the inventor says that in optimal conditions , Eliica exceed 400 km / h - in fact, it is the current objective of its producers. Until now only two models were produced - one designed to excel in speed records, other records for acceleration, both costing about $ 250,000.
8. Rinspeed iChange: 0-100 km / h in 4
She recently made her debut at the Geneva Motor Show 2009 which has left many critics surprised thanks to its unique ability to change shape depending on the number of passengers on board. His forms have been made by Swiss designer Frank Rinderknecht that imagined a vehicle with a single place which, while necessary, can be transformed into one of three places. The rationale behind this bizarre think is that the aerodynamics change with dramatic results, according to the weight of the car.
The car is powered by a 150-kilowatt electric motor that develops 204 horsepower, aided by integrated solar panels on the roof of the body, two lithium-ion batteries and a manual transmission borrowed from the Subaru WRX. It reaches a top speed of 220 km / h. Rinspeed iChange concept car is the most expensive vehicle on the top, costing one million euros.
9.Tango: 0-100 km / h in 4.5 s
Of all the eco-vehicles within this classification, Tango is closest to the infamous image of green prototypes that you are used: the small, ugly and seemingly unergonomic. By comparison with the rest of "meteorites" from other positions, Tango has a taste of Cinderella in its worst days, and at the moment of it’s launched, critics wondered whether self "how can something like this be taken seriously ?
Well, maybe. She doesn’t look too handsome, but its producers, the Americans from Commuter Cars, had two objectives: to develop a safe and efficient machine at the same time, aspire to the title of fastest urban car market. And they did: is reaching only 4.5 per cent in seconds and has a top speed of 193.1 km / h (electronically limited). Works by 19 Hawker Genesis batteries G70EP prototype, which, unlike those fitted to other vehicles from this ranking are based on acid - not lithium-ion, optional, but can also mount the latter. In both configurations, Tango's autonomy unexpectedly reached 250 km. The Price: $ 110,000. The first prototype is in possession of George Clooney, and the second came on the second floor of an office building in Silicon Valley, in the office of Eric Schmidt, Google's boss, as a joke made by April 1 by the employees of the online giant last year.
10. Dodge EV Circuit: 0-100 km / h in 5
Along with the vehicle-ghost on the 4th place, this is the most controversial of the top. That's because car fanatics have branded a field with a harsh label, calling it "Lotus toy”. Their reason: the body and interior fittings - less than what lies under the hood - roughly copy the Lotus Europa, and the new Green's Dodge was seen only as a marketing move. Wrong.
Despite all gossips, for an eco-car, the Dodge EV Circuit presents itself more than respectable: it is powered by an electric motor with lithium-ion batteries, with a range of 320 km, develops 268 horsepower, starting 000-100 km / h in five seconds and top speed is 195 km / h. Chrysler announces Dodge's marketing EV Circuit since 2010, at a very competitive price: for such a luxury fireball, is under $ 100,000.
