Would you believe an electric car with 1,000 horsepower, a 0-60 time under three seconds, and a top speed over 200 miles per hour? [Link]?

Why not? Pound for pound, an electric motor has far more torque that a gasoline or diesel engine, no RPM restrictions (for the most part). And the battery required for this speed demonstration only has to propel the car for the distance and minimal time required in a single instance, not 8 to 10 hours like a conventional electric car.

Sure, I’d believe it.

An electric motor has peak torque at zero RPM. Sure you can make it accelerate like a bandit. You can place the batteries where you need to get the best traction.
The question is how far can you drive the car in cold weather (it is 10F today) with the heater and window defrosters on. How much battery degradation is there over time?
How long does it take to “fill ‘er up”. My gasoline power car will “take a full charge” in 1 minute 30 seconds.
Gasoline and diesel engines are hard to beat. That is why there are so many around.
On a pound for pound basis gasoline holds 40–80 times more energy than batteries.
I’m confident batteries will get there eventually. (Hey they just finished the 7th row on the periodic table so anything is possible.)

I am so in love with my new hybrid! I would love to go totally electric, which a car that could achieve what they are claiming would allow me to do.

General performance is adequate but the the cost/benefit electric cars isn’t good yet.
1. Slow recharge times. And few charging stations.
2. Short travel distances per charge (especially in the winter when a heater/defroster use is necessary).
3. Short battery life.
4. High battery replacement cost.
5. High purchase cost of the electric car.

I’m excited by the possibility of an electric car with 1,000 horsepower, a 0–60 time under three seconds, and a top speed over 200 miles per hour!

I don’t give a shit about the current practicality of such a vehicle – I know that will come with time and technology – I just didn’t have any idea that kind of speed and power was possible with an electric car.

Imagine self driving cars on interstates with a built in power grid, getting from place to place in ½ to ⅓ the time of present day vehicles.

Yeah I believe it. They already have a motorcycle that can achieve rail gun speeds of 0–60 in under 1 sec.

@gondwanalon Here’s another issue: Severe, intense electrical fires in the case of worm wiring, or accident.

Faraday Future’s announcement is a publicity stunt, nothing more. Its first car will be a lot more like the Tesla Model S than this concept.

As good as the Model S is, I’m not interested in electric performance cars. Much the same as quartz watches are less desirable than mechanical watches despite being better at telling the time, electric cars may one day be faster, cheaper, and better than petrol engined cars in every measurable way. But they’ll never stir the passions the way the Jaguar XK engine did, or give the driver goosebumps like Ferrari’s Colombo engine did.

Still, @FireMadeFlesh, it’s an eye-opener to many people as to what electric cars are capable of.
You can’t tell me you wouldn’t jump at the chance to take the concept car for a spin. :)

The White Zombie built and owned by John “Plasma Boy” Wayland is a ‘72 Datsun 1200 that was converted to electric many years ago. It’s a street-legal daily driver that could be replicated for ~$25–30k, or less than many new cars these days.

It also has over 1,200 ft-lbs of torque; more than two Dodge Vipers with their combined 16.8 liters. That massive torque gives it a 0–60 time of under 2 seconds, and it can run a ¼-mile in 10.4.

Having seen that years ago, I’m a little harder to impress.

@gondwanalon Slow charge times? Well, it’s possible to get them fast-charged. The a Tesla Model S also has the option of doing a battery swap in five minute. But tell me, you you keep driving while you are at work, or asleep in your bed? The truth is that hte only ones who need to really worry about that are commercial drivers and those who commute over 100 miles each way. Or maybe further; read on.

Short travel distances? Real-world testing puts worst-case (low temps; defrost and heat on full) ranges on a Nissan Leaf at considerably further than average American drives even on a round-trip commute with a couple of side-trips like grocery shopping after work. But if you are too lazy to plug your car in at night, you’re probably too lazy to own a smartphone, or have a pet, and definitely should not have children! Oh, and it’s also possible to charge while you are at work or top off a battery in the parking lot as you shop. But I suppose you could avoid it by getting a Model S which has a range comparable to gas-burners; many cars can’t get 250 miles on a 10-gallon tank, so a battery with a 280–300 mile range isn’t really a limitation.

Short battery life? Partly true, but the Rav4 EV’s NiMH pack generally lasted >150k miles and over a decade with only about a 20% loss in capacity. Too back Chevron got the patents for large-format NiMH packs and left us with the more expensive and more problematic Lithium batteries.

High battery replacement cost? Well, considering what you save on maintenance over time, and the fact that electric motors on direct-drive don’t suffer things like transmission problems, leaky/blown gaskets and such, I’m not so sure that that’s a downside either.

So the only point you made that has any real traction is that small-run cars lack the economy of scale to be truly cost-competitive, and that luxury cars with leather seating for 7 and huge flatscreen TVs are more expensive than basic commuter cars.

@kritiper That actually is a valid concern. Then again, I remember the Ford Pinto too. Given that they have far less vibration going on, worn wiring is less of an issue than in gas-guzzlers, but it’s still something that may warrant more damage-resistant cabling materials and techniques. A trickier issue is how to handle a short circuit induced by, say, bending the cell in half around a tree. But overall, I don’t see them as much more dangerous than gassers. So long as firefighters learn/remember the differences between a Class Bravo fire and a Class Charlie fire, it’s a wash.

@FireMadeFlesh There was a time when electric cars outnumbered those that ran on “cleaning solvent”. Those who like gas-burners are the ones that truly strayed from their roots. That “one day” you speak of already happened over a century ago, and it’s coming again since you missed it the first time.

@Cruiser If memory serves, Wayland borrowed KillaCycle’s battery pack at least once as it’s lighter than the pack he normally carries. Then again, the White Zombie generally drives to the track under it’s own power and swaps it’s street tires for slicks, so it stands to reason that his normal battery would be bigger (and heavier) than a pack made to go just 1320 feet at a stretch.

@ibstubro I’d take the concept for a spin, for sure. Then I’d jump back in my internal combustion powered car and take the long way home.

@jerv I’m aware of the original electric cars, and the many times since that people have tried to bring them back. And I’ll readily admit that Tesla has changed my opinion on electric cars, especially since a Model S destroyed an Australian V8 Supercar in a drag race. I hope that electric cars take over, and that electric public transport makes cars near-redundant. A sustainable solar powered future makes economic and social sense.

But I’m an enthusiast. I don’t care if internal combustion cars are slower, less comfortable, and less practical. I’ll still choose the petrol powered vehicle every time. But I’m a bit of a Luddite like that – given ludicrous sums of money to spend on a dream garage, I wouldn’t go straight to the Bugatti or Ferrari dealer. I’d first call Pur Sang or Eagle.