Looking to do your part to help reduce the U.S. expenditure on foreign oil with your next car purchase but hoping to not have to stifle your enthusiast leanings? Dodge may very well have you covered with its new EV sports car.
Based on a lightweight aluminumchassis developed by legendary sports and race-car constructor Lotus, theDodge EV is a highly energy-efficient, all-electric "plug-in" vehicle. It is also a real sports car for the hardcore set, with mid-mounted batteries and electric motor creating a near- 50/50 weight balance and a low center of gravity.
Acceleration and range are impressive. Thanks to a 200-kw (268 hp) electric motor that produces 480 lb.-ft. of torque, the EV rockets from 0–60 mph in less than 5.0 seconds, runs the quarter-mile in under 13.0 seconds, and has a top speed of over 120 mph. And, thanks to its lithium-ion batteries and regenerative braking, Dodge claims a true driving range of over 150 miles, making the rear-wheel-drive EV an electric car that everybody can live with in the real world.
But will the Dodge EV see the production light of day? It looks likely, perhaps as early as 2010. Pricing has yet to be determined, but it is this sort of cutting-edge technology doesn't come cheap (nor does the lightweight Lotus chassis that the EV is based on). But with mass-production of lithium-ion batteries ramping up around 2013, the price will likely come down quite a bit, making cars such as the Dodge EV more of a practical reality.
