Most of us are aware that the electric cars are the future. Some of us had the opportunity to drive one of these and understood the electric motor’s potential.
For instance, let’s take as example the Tesla Model S: in the youtube, there are plenty of drag races in which the four-doors model keeps up with supercars like Lamborghini or Ferrari. But what about the fastest legal-street electric car? I’m glad you asked: it’s a Chevrolet Corvette! Yes, I know, Corvette doesn’t have an electric powertrain. Not even a hybrid one. The real fact is that it was modified by Genovation and renamed Genovation eXtreme Electric (GXE). Instead of the traditional, combustion engine, they fitted an electric motor capable of 700 hp and a flat 814 Nm of torque. In these new conditions, the GXE sprints to 60 mph in exactly three seconds. The top speed that transformed it into the fastest electric street car was 186.8 mph (or 300.61 km/h). A proof that damn fast doesn’t mean unpractical is the car’s range: with the batteries filled, the GXE can be driven for about 210 km. However, the record would probably be beaten soon, maybe even by the same car. If not, there are other teams ready to take the title away from them.
Though it is the fastest electric road-car, the 300 km/h record doesn’t seem like an untouchable speed to me. The production version of Tesla Model S is electronically limited to 250 km/h, and hits the 60mph barrier in under three seconds. But what would happen if that speed limiter wouldn’t cut at all? …just a thought…
