skooby

Well here's a shock: a good looking British sports car (sorry Lotus). This is the Lightning GT, and instead of guzzling super unleaded it creates 700 horsepower using batteries.

Or so the Lightning Car Company claims. But we'll leave off being cynical for a moment (don't worry, it is only for a moment) and continue telling you just how good this thing looks. It is all classic GT: long hood, low curving roofline, and massive multi-spoke alloy wheels, complete with a major surprise.

View Pictures: Lightning GT

Those blue discs? They ain't the brakes — at least not in the traditional sense. The Lightning GT uses four hub-mounted electric motors, providing direct drive to the wheels. Combined with just 30 battery packs, these deliver the electric equivalent of "700 horsepower+" and each motor can be individually controlled.

This means the car can modify the speed of the wheels depending on steering angle and velocity, and presumably any other parameter the team can program into the system — suspension load, for example. This should lead to exceptionally dynamic handling — assuming all the computers are talking to each other.

Zero to 60 mph will, apparently, take less than four seconds — "when it's fully developed." This leads us to the more eyebrow-raising areas of the Lightning’s specifications. Having just 30 batteries is surprising enough (most electric supercars use far more than that), but the claim is these give the car a 300-km [186-mile] range — on just a 10-minute charge.

This is, quite frankly, unbelievable. That's not to say the Lightning Car Company hasn't achieved it — it does have video footage of the car moving under its own power displayed on the stand at the British Motor Show 2008 — but we would really like to see a full demonstration before even thinking about handing over any money.

Lightning officials say deliveries could start in 2010, but the company still requires investment to make that happen. It also claims "£20,000+ [US$40,000+] savings on annual running costs versus equivalent petrol sports car" — very bold. But if your biggest concern is the lack of an exciting engine note, fear not: the Lightning GT includes a “sound module.”

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...&topart=sports

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Never pay a dollar to the jihaddis again? Where do I sign up?

aleksandar1099

YES!!!!!! lets make a list

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

For real this thing sounds like a dream to me, and looks like one. I'd take that in a second. I have a 100-mile commute every day, if they could make this thing even remotely affordable for me (in the low $100k range) I'd pick one up in as much time as it takes me to call the dealership. My commute is costing me well over $1,200 a month in gas, that's a car payment in itself.

Jakpro1

Said it before I will say it again.

I want to take them out of the Veyrons and put them back on the transportation they used for thousands of years .

Go electric!!! HURRY UP!!!

MB_Forever

The specs actually look very good: 700 hp and 0-60 in under 4 seconds. I can't wait for the AMG version

At least we won't have to worry about a dead battery anymore if we have 30 available

C43AMG

I am sure there will be a equivalent to a CPS sensor that will leave us stranded...somewhere.