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Power cut — the stop-start history of the battery car
From the 1890s the electric vehicle has always been the great idea that never quite made it. Now new battery technology is taking the concept from the delivery van to the supercar
THE PAST
Th!nk City (original)
Launched 2000
Top speed 56mph
Range 53 miles
Cost Leased to owners for £80 per month. Ford invested $123m
Reason for demise Killed off due to poor sales (about 1,000 worldwide)
and unprofitability, the death of the original Th!nk in 2002 crushed the
hopes of European disciples of the electric car project. Ford said that it
wanted to concentrate on hybrid technology
General Motors EV1
Launched 1996
Top speed 80mph
Range 100 miles
Cost About 800 were leased in the US for between $299 and $574 per
month. GM invested $1 billion
Reason for demise When the EV1 was killed off in 2003 critics claimed
it was a stitch-up by oil companies worried by its success, a conspiracy
theory that spawned the film Who Killed the Electric Car?. GM responded that
it could not sell enough to ever make the model profitable
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Citroën Berlingo/ Peugeot Partner
Launched 1998
Top speed 60mph
Range 59 miles
Cost £18,030
Reason for demise The Berlingo should have been the perfect car for
delivering parcels or meals on wheels and for any small urban business that
needed to get about cleanly and cheaply. It wasn’t: poor sales (one source
says a dozen a year) meant the plug had to be pulled in 2005
THE FUTURE
Th!nk City
Top speed 62mph
Range 112 miles
Price Not announced
On sale Production starts this autumn, available 2008
Why There have been enough twists and turns in the Th!nk story to merit
a book, and almost as many false dawns. The new model is powered by a new
battery pack, superior to its predecessors and the same as that used in the
high performance Tesla.
More info www.think.no
Lightning GT
Top speed 130mph
Range 250 miles
Price £150,000
On sale 2008 (orders being taken now)
Why It isn’t cheap but when this sports tourer built by a
Peterborough-based company goes on sale next year it will uniquely use four
wheel-mounted electric motors to power it to 60mph in 4.5sec. As with most
such small-scale products, the proof will be in the driving
More info www.lightningcarcompany.com
Tesla Roadster
Top speed 130mph
Range More than 200 miles
Price $98,000 (£48,600)
On sale 2008 in America only
Why The most talked-about electric vehicle since the Sinclair C5 boasts
supercar performance (060mph in 4sec) and real-world practicality. It is
based on the same platform as the Lotus Elise so you can expect terrific
handling too. If you want one, though, you’ll have to join the already
lengthy waiting list
More info www.teslamotors.com