Power of a Porsche, roar of a milk float: UK's first green supercar

· £120,000 car capable of 0-60mph in four seconds · Silent motors need sound simulator to provide growl
David Adam, environment correspondent
The Guardian,
Thursday July 10, 2008

The Electric Lightning GT appears to have everything an eco-conscious lover of British sports cars could want: luxury interior, top speed of 130mph 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 £120,000 green supercar to sound like a milk float.
The Lightning Car Company, based in Peterborough, will unveil its handbuilt 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 £15,000 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 0-60mph in four seconds and is able to travel up to 200 miles on a single battery charge. It will generate 700bhp, about the same power as seven Ford Fiestas. 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 £55,000 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.
The car will not be a true zero-emission vehicle unless the electricity used to charge the battery comes from a wholly renewable source, such as wind power. Renewables make up only about 5% of national grid electricity supply. But, according to the Energy Saving Trust, charging an electric car from the mains still produces "significantly less" carbon pollution than using petrol or diesel.
Only a few hundred electric cars are sold in Britain each year, but the government plans a big expansion as part of a £100bn investment in renewable energy to meet EU targets. They are exempt from car tax and city congestion charges, and could become more attractive as fuel price rises bite harder. The maker of the Lightning argues that it could save drivers of equivalent petrol cars in London as much as £17,000 a year.
One question remains: what would Jeremy Clarkson make of it? The outspoken BBC Top Gear presenter is no fan of environmental causes and electric vehicles; the programme once raced a G-Wiz electric car against a table.
Dell said: "That's a question we've often asked and joked about ourselves in the early hours of the morning. Honestly, I don't know, I'd be interested to find out but we won't be chasing a view."
Richard Dyer, transport campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said: "We very much welcome the increased interest in electric cars recently, but we have to ...say they are a long way off being a realistic solution to climate change."
Switched on
Electric Lightning GTPower Full electricTop speed 130mphRange 200 milesPrice £120,000
Tesla RoadsterPower Full electricTop speed 130mphRange 220 milesPrice £55,000
G-WizPower Full electricTop speed 50mphRange 48 milesPrice £7,500
GM Volt (Due 2010)Power Plug-in hybridTop speed 120mphRange 40 miles (battery)Price £15,000-£24,000
Honda FCXPower Hydrogen fuel cellTop speed 100mphRange 350 milesPrice £300/month lease