First look: Lightning strikes electric sports car world

BRITAIN’S Lightning Car Company used last week’s British motor show to unveil the Lightning GT, an all-electric sports coupe that has entered prototype build phase and is now available for pre-order ahead of first deliveries in 2009.

Featuring “racing car technology”, “NanoSafe” battery power and a “Hi-Pa Drive” electric motor, wrapped in a sleek classic British sports car design, the Lightning GT is claimed to offer performance to match its sleek two-door carbon/Kevlar bodyshell.

No kerb weight figure is given, but Lightning says the GT’s 0-100km/h acceleration is “likely to surpass almost all large engine high performance sports cars” and yet its maintenance-free motor, control electronics and special batteries will require far less servicing than other sports cars.

Preliminary specifications for the GT include a 0-60mp/h acceleration time of five seconds (under five seconds for the ‘Sport’ version), a 210km/h-plus top speed and a power output of more than 480kW, via four in-wheel “permanent magnet” brushless motors – each delivering 120kW.

Each wheel is also equipped with a full regenerative braking system and the car has a programmable external engine sound generator. A home-based charging system (EVCS) with integral safety features is standard equipment, as is a mobile charging system.

Developed in 2000 by US company Altairnano Inc, NanoSafe batteries use nano titanate materials instead of graphite, which is claimed to make them more thermally stable and allows them to be recharged in about 10 minutes – enough to return up to a claimed 320km of motoring and to make the Lightning a claimed 10 times cheaper to run than a conventional car.

Lightning says NanoSafe batteries have a life expectancy of more than 12 years, can retain up to 85 per cent of charge capacity after 15,000 charges and deliver power per unit weight and unit volume advantages several times that of conventional Lithium-Ion batteries.

NanoSafe batteries are employed by Phoenix Motorcars’ electric SUV and powered the world record-beating electric dragster in which Dennis Berube achieved a top speed of more than 250km/h in less than eight seconds at Tucson, Arizona on December 30, 2007.

The Lightning’s Hi-Pa Drive, invented by UK company PML Flightlink Ltd, integrates its electric motor and drive electronics into one unit and is claimed to produce up to 20 times greater power density than conventional electric drive systems.

“The compact, energy-efficient, electric wheel motors produce unrivalled levels of torque with internal heavy-duty tapered roller bearings that can withstand heavy radial loads for robust use,” says Lightning. “Yet they achieve the power to weight ratio important for the performance sports car capability of the Lightning.” The Hi-Pa Drive system was employed in Volvo’s ReCharge concept that debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show and is said to be fully weather-proof and features several levels of redundancy, “so any single failure will not prevent the vehicle from operating safely”.

Other standard Lightning GT features include ABS, traction control, electronic door entry, central door locking, an alarm and immobiliser, power windows, an acoustic information and entertainment system, part leather/Alcantara sports seats, forged alloy wheels, tinted windows, Hella halogen headlights and LED tail and side lighting.

Optional equipment includes air-conditioning, a tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system, satellite-navigation, full leather trim and a car cover, while exterior paint colours include blue, black and silver.