Monday, December 29, 2008

Ginetta working on electric version of G50 sports car

With a half-century of car-building experience for both the road and track, the UK's Ginetta Cars is now setting its sights on a truly modern goal: a high-performance electric vehicle. Details on the car remain closely held, but the car's first development steps are already underway.

The G50 is Ginetta's most recent addition to its stable of race and road cars, with the first production example hitting Britain's streets earlier this year. Now the company is building an electric variant that it claims will be capable of 120mph (193km/h) and have a range up to 250mi (402km).

A three-battery power storage system and an electric motor will send power directly to the rear wheels for strong handling dynamics and simplicity of powertrain design. The motor itself is a Zytek Engineering unit, purpose-built for automotive use.

Ginetta plans to build the entire drivetrain into a single integrated package with just three external connectors: one for water (for cooling purposes), one for 300V high voltage electricity and one for 12V power.

Though the G50 EV reportedly took to the streets for its first test some time in October, so far the car is only in developmental stages, with no time line or price range yet specified. Ginetta's G50R and G50 Cup street and race cars are currently on sale, however, for both road-going and competitive racing use.

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