
The record breaking Eliica
To the question: "Are electric car the death of muscle cars?" as some news media outlet so dramatically put forth, the answer is no, a resounding no. Why not?
The gist is that electric vehicle, EV if anything are the rebirth of the muscle car. What? You mean you never associated EVs with muscle cars? Well, let me bend your ear, or eyes, as might be the case.
Power Misconceptions. When it comes to the quaint image that EV's are glorified golf carts, it might be good to remember that the electric motor deliver 100% of its torque as soon as it spins. Gas engines just cannot compete as the Tesla Roadster, Commuter Car and Dodge Circuit have prooven on Google.
Hat tip FrenchDragRacer.
Simply enough, what this means is that the more powerful your electric motor and lighter your EV is, the more power these car can put out.
The New Era Of The Electric Muscle Cars. Maybe it's time we review what a muscle car really means. A muscle car is one that has a lot of power. So far we all agree on that one. So let me tell you about the incredible Lightning GT? Just to refresh our minds the Lightening GT boasts 700hp, which makes it capable of a 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. And did I ever mention how beautiful the car looks?
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Eliica, The World Record Breaker. What about the Japanese funky 8 wheel Eliica close to breaking the 250mph world record that achieves these impressive speeds with only 480hp and blows away a Porsche 911 Turbo. The idea is why use 4 wheels when 8 in-wheels electric motor hubs do? Each motor is rated at 60hp. Simply brilliant.
Hat tip, TSports 100.
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Tesla Roadster. And what about the more affordable Tesla Roadster with its 250 or so hp that does 0 to 60 in 4.9 second for the "normal" version and 4.7 for the supped up one? That pretty fits my concept of a muscle car with the added advantage that it corners very well, more so that traditional cars.
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It is about time to nip it in the bud, electric cars can be docile little city dwellers and blazing fast cars. An electric motor has more advantages than an internal combustion engine, ICE. An electric motor has 2 moving part, spins at close to 14,000 and delivers 100% of its torque as soon as it spins. Its raw horsepower curve is linear and doesn't drop as fast as a gas one does. Gas engine simply just cannot compete as the video above shows. Maybe the muscle car image has to evolve from big, but slow to react big displacement cars that, let's face it never cornered well compared to the new crop of EVs.
I've only shown the top of the line super EVs here but in a year or two, more affordable ones will some out. So is it the death of muscle cars? No. In fact, EVs help renew the muscle car, but in a much more subtle way than their ancient counterparts. This time they handle well.
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Comments
Reports on testing of Ford Focus EV mules shows the lil' EV from Ford is very torquey. I suspect traction control systems will become standard on EVs.
Hi Ken,
Do you have any specific reports in mind? I think traction control will have to become standard since the electric engine can overwhelm more a traditional drivetrain than an ICE. At this stage, car makers have a few decades of that technology under their belts.
Nick
in that last video, the drivers were awful. the guy in the mercedes completely missed the apex of the turn because he went too wide. the bike is, well, a bike, and they cant corner tight without banking like crazy. and the guy in the vette goosed it through the turn, obviously spinning out. get real drivers in there, and we'll see which is best.
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