An electric supercar, the Nemesis, designed and built in the UK yesterday set a new land-speed record for electric cars when it reached speeds of 151 mph.
The car, which is based on a converted Lotus Exige, is the brainchild of Dale Vince, the founder of green electricity company Ecotricity. The vehicle is powered entirely by electricity from the company’s network of 53 wind turbines around the UK.
Nemesis, which was transformed by a team of motorsport engineers in Norfolk with some funding from the Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles Demonstration Programme, was driven to the new record by 21-year-old racing driver Nick Ponting at Elvington Airfield near York.
“We built the Nemesis to smash the stereotype of electric cars as something Noddy would drive – slow, boring, not cool – and I think we’ve done exactly that,” says Vince. “Hopefully this will further stimulate debate about the future of transport in Britain.”
Ecotricity says the Nemesis doesn’t just offer speed, but can travel 100-150 miles between charges and can be fully recharged in less than 30 minutes.
For further information:
www.ecotricity.co.uk
Related stories:
UK green energy company Ecotricity’s wind output up 18% in 2011 (6-Jan)
ChargePoint Services and Ecotricity launch renewable electric vehicle charging network (27-Jul 2011)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5408/
