SAN FRANCISCO: A nondescript white van powered by a powerful electric motor has put BMW's i8 electric hypercar to shame in a head-to-head race in California.
The van is a modified Damiler Vanio commercial being used as a test mule by the electric car start-up Atieva in California to show the prowess of its electric powertrain.
Dubbed Edna, the van has an output of more than 900hp and can store 87 kWh of energy, according to its developers. The motive power will form the basis of a first saloon from Atieva in 2018, says the company.
The mule outpaced BMW's expensive i8 supercar in a quarter-mile race stretch at an airport in California.
Along for the run was a bright red Dodge Viper, the menacing sports machine from the US manufacturer, which is no slouch itself.
Despite 645 horses from a V10 combustion engine, the Dodge was no match for Edna, which took just 2.94 seconds to reach 100kph.
Second place went to the BMW i8 hybrid which can sprint from 0-100kph in a Porsche-beating 4.4 seconds and offers strong mid-range acceleration. Power comes from twin electric motors mated to a three-cylinder turbodiesel engine. The Dodge came in third.
Edna also completed the quarter mile in 11.3 seconds, faster than the other two cars.
The Silicon Valley start-up said that even after a sequence of quarter mile runs, its Viano mule had more than enough juice to drive the 150 km-trip back to its Menlo Park headquarters.
Atieva was started in California by former Tesla and Oracle executives. — dpa
