Europe's first electric super car, with a top-speed of 130mph, launched this month

By Lucy Cockcroft
Last Updated: 8:34AM BST 10/07/2008

A British firm has designed Europe's first eco-friendly sports car, the Electric Lightning GT, which can put the acceleration of a Jaguar to shame and reach a top speed of 130mph.

With a luxury interior and slick design, the vehicle has everything that you would expect from a super car, except that it is powered by 30 onboard rechargeable electric batteries.
At £130,000 it is not cheap, but the manufacturers claim that with savings on road tax, congestion charges, and car and fuel taxes the average London commuter would save £17,000 a year compared to a similar petrol car.
It also comes with a number of optional extras, including a sound generator, for those sports car enthusiasts who like their engines to make a distinctive growl. Electric cars are usually silent.

The Lightning Car Company, based in Peterborough, will unveil its prototype at the British International Motor Show in London this month.
By 2009, it hopes to begin delivering them to customers, some of whom are rumoured to be celebrities, although the company has refused to confirm names.
A spokesman for the company said: "The stunning performance of the Lightning GT will likely surpass almost all large engine high performance sports cars in the 0-60mph range.
"The sensation of harnessing power and performance will be felt by the sheer exhilaration of the power pushing you back in your seat as the car accelerates.
"Because there is no engine, the Lightning has a maintenance-free motor with just a few parts and together with the control electronics and special batteries, will not need anywhere near the servicing of other sports cars."
The Lightning GT will accelerate from 0-60mph in four seconds and will be able to travel up to 200 miles on a single battery charge.
It will generate 700 brake-horse-power, about the same as seven Ford Fiestas. Charging the batteries can be done by plugging the car into the mains supply overnight.
In time, it is hoped that supermarkets and garages would offer fast, high-power charging points that would refuel the car in a matter of minutes.
The Electric Lightning is not the first electric sports car. The US firm Tesla started producing its £55,000 battery-powered Roadsters earlier this year.