England's Latest Electric Lightning Debuts, Wows Onlookers at British Motor Show

The English Electric Lightning was a British supersonic fighter aircraft of the Cold War era that, to this day, remains the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft in existence.

It's worth chewing the fat over in a pub where locals prefer their beer warm, and no doubt at such a place a couple of venerable RAF pilots are discussing its great speed and natural metal exterior this very minute.

But it's an Electric Lightning of a different sort that's all the rage in Britain right now.

Making its world debut at the British Motor Show in London this week is the Electric Lightning GTS all-electric high-performance sports car, pictured here along with the equally stunning fighter aircraft.

Similar to the all-electric Tesla Roadster that is now available, the Electric Lightning is expected to enter production and the marketplace next year. It's price? Approximately $240,000 to $300,000 - or more than twice the $109,000 its American rival goes for.

Despite the price difference, the Roadster is actually a tenth of a second quicker from standstill to 60 miles per hour, accelerating to that speed in 3.9 seconds compared to the flat 4 of the Electric Lighting.

Plus, the Roadster is good for an EPA-confirmed 220 miles between charges, while the Electric Lightning runs out of juice between 150 and 180 miles, according to its maker.

So what makes the British car so special?

"We've got fast-charge technology," Electric Lightning chief Chris Dell said this week. "It's future-proofed."

Anywhere three-phase industrial power is available, Dell said, the Electric Lightning's Altairnano batteries can be fully charged in only 10 minutes. The Tesla's lithium-ion batteries require more than 3 hours.

Of course, we can't take Dell's word for it. And he's got to say something, given that you could buy two Teslas for the price of one Electric Lightning.

It certainly will be interesting if the Electric Lightning proves as quick to recharge as it takes most motorists to fill a tank of gasoline.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by

Scott Doggett July 24, 2008, 10:03 AM

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Emissions, Fuel Economy, Lightning, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla