World’s Fastest Electric Car is a 1972 Datsun
Out on the dragstrip, one hardly expects the car kicking ass and taking names to be an old ‘72 Datsun 1200. Especially when the losers are driving BMWs, Corvettes and Ferraris. But those guys didn’t get pwned by any ol’ Datsun…this one’s electric!
It seems a bit like a paradox. Drag racing is flame-dipped muscle cars with bikini-clad hood ornaments spread over the hood. Electric cars, not so much.
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But John ‘Plasma Boy‘ Wayland’s White Zombie is a game changer.
It goes from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds! In fact, it can take a quarter-mile in 11.46 seconds reaching a top speed of 114 mph - that’s a world record. And it’s street-legal.
The White Zombie is powered by two motors; motors that are usually used to operate forklifts. It’s filled up with over 60 batteries that occupy both the trunk and the back seat. All of this gives the White Zombie about 300 hp, and the ability to beat every combustion engine it comes up against.
It takes about 20 minutes to fully charge the car, and it can get up to 40 miles on a full charge.
So how does a ‘72 Datsun knock down a souped up Corvette? Well, electric vehicles have an abundance of torque and they have it all from a standing stop. So they just explode off the starting line.
I think it’s safe to say that the future of racing is green.
Image: dragtimes.com
Love all the idiot posts….There are ways to plug up an electric car and still be green…uhh let’s see….solar, wind, hydro. Gas is out….people just need to wake up and realize that the oil cartels and big businesses are keeping us where they want us. In THEIR POCKET. Gotta break free and quick being small minded, and led like cattle.
What many folks don’t realize is that during off-peak hours, usually at night, the energy grid actually produces excess power which goes unused. Because of the way most power plants work, its not efficient for them to shut down during this time so they keep on pumping out watts even if its not being used.
I charge my electric car overnight taking advantage of lower off-peak rates but best of all, I’m not really contributing to increased emissions. I’m just using the energy that’d otherwise go to waist.
Hey Jerry..just keep putting the good word out…we know what the real deal is…let the pre-hominid cromags learn how to walk upright..Maybe then we can teach them how to build a fire also..We’ll see..wake up folks its time to evolve!! This is a positive step in the right direction..the right to be critical on this matter is only held by the the person working harder to achieve better..Monk
Damn impressive.
20 minutes to fully charge and go 40 miles. Perfect for city driving.
And if it is charged using solar panels in your backyard or something, holy moly. “Free” driving.
I love the ignorant programmed moron response “the electricity comes from fossil fuels” blah, blah.
Hello, solar power is FREE and uses no energy to make energy. 100% more efficient than ANY gas car.
Wake up people. And even when it comes from the grid it still is 90% better than burning oil.
If we all actually stood up to the power companies who continually burn coal because of their lack of desire to convert to a cleaner source, the electric car could be almost carbon neutral. I personally get my electricity from a local wind farm and, if I were to drive an electric car, there would be no pollution released at any point. Maybe if we all were able to get our own solar panels and electric cars, we would be self-sufficient and could stop being a slave to the power and fuel companies. Just think about never having to worry about a blackout again.
This story is about an electric car and owner who lives in Portland OR. The vast majority of electricity produced in the NW United States comes from hydro. Nearby Seattle gets 90% from hydro. Having an electric car in the NW makes great sense for this reason as well as the rest of the US. The carbon footprint for the 1972 Datsun would partially come from the production of the batteries but it’s nothing like what you get from a dirty gasoline or diesel car/truck. Calculating carbon footprints is is much more complicated than the simple example I gave above. Even electric cars charged from coal power plants are less polluting than gas or diesel rigs.
Gas and oil production are not without high costs to the environment including requiring significant electricity from the coal plants for acquisition, processing, and transportation. Electricity is used every step of the way to create and deliver gas.
The question is not if there is any impact on the environment but what is the relative impact. Electric cars are an efficient way to reduce the additional impact on the environment by cutting out the intermediate gas and oil production impact. The advantage of gas is not environmental efficiency but storage.
One can store immense stable amounts of energy in gas allowing for 1,000 mile ranges of heavy load carrying vehicles. The improved batteries in new electric cars are for commuters but aren’t much use to trucks or trains moving goods or large numbers of people.
It is matter of using the right tool or energy source for the job. You don’t get rid of the wrenches because the hammer does a good job.
actually the total electric car is less efficient. average ICE is roughly 20% efficient but newer ICEs are around 30% efficient. The electric is normaslly around 81 % efficient but you have to add roughly 30% efficient at the coal plant and 10% (90% efficient) for loss on the electric grid. Total electric is therefore roughly 21.6 % efficient vs newer ICEs at 30%. Plus coal is much dirtier than gas which all GW are quick to point out.
the only really green fuel on this planet is
the one that fuels our submarines and aircraft
carriers.