Fastest Electric Cars: 'Green Monster' Vs. 'White Zombie'

Once a speed freak, always a speed freak: That's the tale behind Mate Rimac, creator of the Rimac Concept_One electric supercar.

The striking supercar appeared from nowhere to us, but Rimac himself had prior experience with fast EVs--a BMW 3-Series known as 'Green Monster'.

The 'Green' bit is obvious--it's an electric car for starters, and the color is fairly self-explanatory too.

'Monster' is down to what powers the E30 BMW: A 600-horsepower, 664 lbs-ft electric motor.

Performance is literally electric--60 mph zips by in only 3.3 seconds, which is enough to out-point most current supercars, and top speed is a highly respectable 174 mph. Range hasn't been forgotten either, as the 'Monster will manage 112 miles on a charge. Probably not at 174 mph, though.

However, the Green Monster doesn't quite manage Rimac's claim that it's the fastest-accelerating electric car, as we can remember another which lays claim to that title--White Zombie. You guessed it, White Zombie is white. It's not a zombie though. Instead, it's a 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe, with the '1200' bit removed and a Hi Torque Electric motor installed in its place.

On lithium-ion batteries, the car has done a 10.258-second quarter mile at 123.79 mph--around 1.6 seconds quicker than Green Monster's 11.808-second best.

That said, Green Monster has still set records for its class, and Rimac has an ace up his sleeve--the Concept_One supercar, with over 1,000 horsepower, is set to destroy them both very soon...

Source: Green Car Reports

John Wayland Works on All-Electric Honda Insight With 350 Mile Range

John Wayland (A.K.A. Plasma Boy) is best known for building the record-setting White Zombie racer. His latest electric vehicle project, the Silver Streak, puts the emphasis on distance rather than quickness. That is not to say the Honda Insight conversion will be pokey (in fact, we're pretty sure that word isn't in Wayland's vocabulary). However, it won't be hitting the quarter-mile mark in 10.258 seconds at 123.79 miles per hour like its famous garage-mate.

Instead, its performance will be measured in miles. The goal is to easily travel from Portland, OR to Seattle, WA and back – a distance of around about 350 miles (or Kolibri territory) – at speeds of 55 to 70 mph on a single charge. To achieve this, the soon-to-be-former hybrid will be fitted with the electric motor and transaxle that once propelled an EV1 from General Motors. The electric juice will flow from a 71.5 kWh pack of Dow Kokam lithium polymer cells that should weigh close to 900 lbs.

The virgin voyage will be made "flanked by a squadron of Teslas" with cameras rolling. While we look forward to news of that finished footage in the future, the foundation of the story, with all the electro-geek details, is available now on John's blog Wayland's Words and is well worth the read.



Source: Autoblog Green