Saturday February 03, 2007

Zap teams with Lotus for electric sports car

news.com.com :

Zap, which specializes in electric scooters and economy cars, is jumping into the sports car market. The Santa Rosa, Calif.-based company will try to bring an electric sports car to the market by the end of 2008 built around the APX, a concept car developed by England's Lotus Engineering. Zap said its car will go 350 miles before a charge, significantly farther than either the Tesla Roadster or the car from Wrightspeed. It will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds; the Tesla Roadster does that in 4 seconds, while the X1 can do that in 3 seconds. Just as importantly, the Zap-X will have room for five adults, instead of the two seats in the other cars.

The company also said the battery in the car could be recharged in about 10 minutes, faster than other cars. Zap did not identify the battery manufacturer, but Altair Nanotechnologies has been touting a rapidly charging lithium ion battery for cars. The Zap-X will have a theoretical maximum speed of 155 mph and sport 644 horsepower, the company said. The Zap-X runs on four hub motors on the wheels. The brakes are also powered by the engine. The 350-mile range on the car comes from the fact that Zap and Lotus were able to remove many parts required by the gas version of the car but not needed in the electric version.

Better batteries, high gas prices and worries about global warming have all combined to give the notion of electric cars a boost. Car companies, however, also have tinkered with their creations to make them easier to own. Many earlier electric cars needed to be charged at special stations, while the modern crop of electric mobiles can be charged at home. Additionally, car companies are touting performance just as much as ecological friendliness, a distinct change in marketing. Ian Wright of Wrightspeed pointed out that his car is the second fastest sports car on the market, largely because of the way electric motors work.

(2007-02-03 16:10:21 SGT) [Tech] Permalink

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