Tesla’s Model S P85D has received quite a bit of attention from both technology and automotive enthusiasts. Few cars can match the ridiculous all-wheel-drive acceleration its powerful electric motors are capable of generating but this story start with an earlier Tesla model.
Muscle car enthusiast Mitch Medford caught an episode of Top Gear years ago in which host Jeremy Clarkson raced a Tesla Roadster against its petrol-powered cousin, the Lotus Elise. The race wasn’t even close and soon, Medford came across a car online known as the White Zombie.
The Zombie was a 1972 Datsun 1200; not exactly a looker but under the hood, it was powered by two 9-inch electric motors that could rocket the car from 0-60 mph in just 1.8 seconds. Medford reached out to the owner of the vehicle with a vision to build vintage cars powered by modern electric motors.
Zombie 222 is the result of that vision, a 1968 Mustang with dual 11-inch electric motors that put down 800 horsepower and an insane 1,800 pound foot of torque (on a conservative setting). This combination can propel the car from 0-60 mph in just 2.4 seconds.
The Verge has a fascinating piece on this monster, chronicling Medford’s efforts to break the 170 mile per hour mark for an electric vehicle in the standing mile. That’s not exactly a high trap speed but for a car with a body built in 1968 (i.e., poor aerodynamics), it’s incredibly ambitious. LINK
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