Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, a UK-based wind energy company, has presented their first high performance electric sports car. “Nemesis”, as it was “baptized”, is a wind-powered electric car that can effortlessly compete with a V12 Ferrari.
The vehicle’s project and development were done in a speed record time of only 2 years. The creators are a team of first-rate British Formula One engineers, who work their magic on McLaren F1, the Lotus Elan, the Corvette 2R1, the Jaguar XJR15, and the ever-popular, De Lorean, as well.
Vince enthusiastically asserted in 2008 that the Nemesis would “blow the socks off Jeremy Clarkson (of BBC TV show, Top Gear) and smash the stereotype of electric cars.”
The conventional electric car is commonly thought to be slow and impractical; nevertheless, Nemesis withstands the various stereotypes with a stunning maximum speed of 170 mph and getting from 0 to 100 mph in 8.5 seconds. Nemesis requires an energy boost every 100-150 miles, and takes 2 hours to charge from its fast charger or 8-9 hours from a regular mains supply.
Ecotricity stated that the technology used for the creation of Nemesis will be deployed in more of the company’s projects, one of which includes a wind-powered electric car that will exceed speeds of 250 mph.
“We wanted to prove electric cars can be quick to develop, beautiful to look at, cheap to run, and run entirely on wind power. I was not looking for something ecological, worthy, and a bit self-sacrificial, far from it. I wanted to create something exotic and desirable. Something that would turn heads and challenge stereotypes,” said Vince. If Nemesis has been a challenge for Ecotricity to defy electric vehicle stereotypes, the company certainly raised to the expectations.
[via inventorspot]