600 HP LITHIUM POWERED ROADSTER

Popular Mechanics reporter Benjamin Chertoff was leaving the New York Auto Show on Saturday when a bright red roadster lurking down a side street caught his attention. Turns out it was the Mullen Motor GT turned into the L1X-75 electric car by Hybrid Technologies that we told you about at last year's New York show.It also happens that Ben was able to talk his way into an impromptu test drive around New York's crowded streets. While it's not easy to tap the potential of 600 hp or to challenge Mullen's claim of 175 mph in bumper-to-bumper, Ben at least found one traffic-free block to sample lithium-powered acceleration.

Watching a car burning off an inch or two of rear rubber in almost dead silence is eerily unnatural. If electric cars are where we're headed, their quiet operation, especially performance cars, is gonna take some getting used to. But 0-60 times of 3.1 seconds could help ease us into the future.

Source: Popular Mechanics via AB