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.
>> Read up on the 2009 VW Jetta Clean Diesel Cup Season
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
Misleading title to this article, this ISN’T the world’s fastest electric car. It is the world’s fastest electric STREET LEGAL car. There are faster electric dragsters out there.
It’s water powered most likely. In Oregon and Washington most of our electricty comes from rain going through hydroelectric dams!
This car is not charged by burning fossil fuels. The car is in portland oregon and is charged by hydroelectric power.
[...] in exciting new ways. The electric motorbike that rockets from 0-60mph in under a second, and a 1972 Datsun that just happens to be the world’s (second) fastest elecric car spring to [...]
Those of you writing comments about electrics not being more environmentally friendly than ICE (internal combustion engine)cars better do some research and get your facts straight before posting.
When you burn a tank of gasoline, about 85% of the energy in it is wasted, mostly as heat, which comes in handy in winter but is otherwise useless. With an electric car about 85% of the energy from the batteries is converted to motion, which is what a car is supposed to do, move you down the road.
When you burn a tank of gas, all the matter in your gas tank goes into the air. The average car burns something like 2.5 tons of gasoline per year. Multiply that by the 240 million cars on US roads, and you realize why there is an air pollution problem.
Even if the electricity is generated from coal, the electric vehicle is still about 70% less polluting than an ICE car….and electric cars can be charged from electricity generated by hydroelectric, solar panels, and/or wind generators. These generate no point pollution at all.
For all you fulks feeling great about burning gasoline becuase it’s better than the coal that charges Zombies batteries, the Pacific Northwest is powered largely by hydro-electric.
There’s a delicious, self-fulfilling irony in petro junkies insisting on hiding their heads in the sand.
For the smart people talking about fossil fuels. Not sure where you live but where I live in North Carolina our power comes from the river. Hydro Power so green to green my friends.
I would still like to see the bikini-clad hood ornaments !
KILL THE SEALS AND START THE DRILLS! ALSO IF U WOULD LIKE TO GET TECHNICAL BATTERIES PUT OFF A GAS CALLED HYDROGENGAS YOU MAY OF HEARD OF IT.ITS LIGHTER THAN AIR AND IS HIGHLY FLAMMABLE ITS ONE OF THE NUMBER ONE CAUSES OF BATTERIES EXPLODING AND MELTING PEOPLES SKIN.ALSO BATTERIES DISCHARGE HYDROGEN GAS EVEN IF YOU VEHICLE IS SHUT OFF. YAY GASOLINE!
Maybe the electricity used is from coal or nuclear but, It might also be from a damn, solar panel or windmill. With the ICE, the gas basically got there one way and it has to spew in order tow operate. The conscientious E-racer can decide no to pollute while a gasoline powered racer has no such option.