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Green supercar car capable of 0-95kph in four seconds but its silent motors need sound simulator to provide a growl, writes David Adam. THE Electric Lightning GT appears to have everything an eco-conscious lover of sports cars could want: luxury interior, top speed of 209kph and acceleration to shame a Porsche.
And it's all generated from 30 onboard rechargeable electric batteries, with no direct greenhouse gas emissions.
Perhaps just one thing is missing - the throaty growl of a fossil-fuelled high-performance engine that turns heads and opens wallets.
The engineers have thought of that too; the Lightning comes with a "programmable external engine sound generator", for drivers who don't want their BD90,000 green supercar to sound like a milk float.
The Lightning Car Company, based in Peterborough, in eastern England, was set to unveil its hand-built prototype at the British International Motor Show in London this month. By next year, it hopes to begin delivering them to customers, many of whom have already paid a deposit.
Chris Dell, managing director of the company, said the car is aimed at people "who are happy to be perceived as being a little bit different but who also care about the environment".
They are also "high net worth individuals" with an interest in cars. Several celebrities have already paid deposits, he said, but would not reveal names.
The company says the Lightning GT does 0-95kph in four seconds and is able to travel up to 320km on a single battery charge. It will generate 700bhp. Charging the batteries can be done by plugging the car into the mains supply overnight.
In time, Dell hopes supermarkets and garages will offer rapid charging points that would refuel the car in minutes.
The Electric Lightning is not the first electric sports car. The US firm Tesla launched its battery-powered Roadsters this year.
About 900 have been ordered and Tesla has just opened its first showroom in Los Angeles.
The Tesla will also be at the motor show in London.
Dell denied the Lightning was a British version of the Tesla. The motor technology is different, he said, and the Lightning uses longer-lasting batteries which can be charged more quickly.
The Lightning is bigger inside too, and the interior can be tailored to an individual's specifications. It is a two-seater, but promises "plenty of boot space, with golf clubs no problem".
Based on a petrol-powered Lightning produced by the company since 1999, the electric version replaces the fuel tank, engine and transmission system with an electric motor inside each wheel. There is no gear stick, axle or drive shaft.
"All of the power is generated at the wheel, the point at which it's required, which eliminates mechanical complexity and power losses experienced in standard sports cars," the company says.
The motors draw electricity from 30 batteries, each the size of a regular car battery.
The Electric Lightning has borrowed the idea of "regenerative braking" used on other electric vehicles such as trains: when the car brakes, the electric motors become dynamos and generate electricity to top up the batteries.
