Many people are surprised to hear that the fastest electric car on the planet can smoke traditional American muscle cars in a drag race. Yeah that’s right!
The “White Zombie” might not be the prettiest auto you have seen, but this 1970’s compact car accelerates like lightning. It’s even street legal! There are 60 batteries total that power John Wayland’s race car. There is no conventional engine. It started out with 69 horsepower when he built it, but now it has over 300 horsepower.
Mr. Wayland says, “We go into the den of the lion. We go to the drag strip with hot imports and muscle cars. We roll in with our electric car and knock heads with them.” That same day, his car went on to beat corvettes, mustangs and other muscle cars by over a second on average. For a 1/4 mile race, that is basically leaving the competition in the dust. In fact, the White Zombie has even set some world records for acceleration for a street legal vehicle.
Even though the car only has 300 horsepower, it is much more powerful than a gas-powered quivalent. This is because an electric car gets 100% torque. This means that, unlike a gas powered car, all of the energy goes into making the wheels turn.