Working on cars is my zen, and while Generation Y may not be as interested in cars as past generations, some Canadian kids are in the midst of building an electric drag racing pickup. Dig it.
Americans fell in love with cars via auto racing and hot rodding, and I think to get a new generation of young Americans to love cars again, we need to make electric cars and other alt-fuels fun. 50 mpg and low CO2 emissions aren’t fun; driving down the drag strip in an electrified hot rod is, and that’s exactly what students at the Delta Secondary School in Ladner, British Columbia are doing. Casey Mynott, the auto class intrstructor, decided that instead of building the typical drag car that many BC schools do, his class would try to turn a small Toyota pickup into a fast electric drag racer. And why not? A pickup is the perfect platform for an electric drag racer. The students put 20 lead-acid batteries with 240 volts of power over the rear axles, making for some good grip.
The electric motor goes where the old combustion engine sat, and a custom aluminum driveshaft hooks it all together. As the truck is tuned for racing, range is limited to just 40 miles, and it isn’t exactly fast either; a trip down the ¼ mile (the standard range for most drag races) takes around 14 seconds. For comparison, the new Mustang GT can do the quarter mile in the low-13 second range. But it ain’t too shabby either, and give them a few years they might be chasing after the Nissan GT-R-beating White Zombie electric Datsun. I really hope to see more projects like this cropping up and maybe rekindle our young peoples’ love for the automobile.
Source: Wired | Images: Casey Mytnott
Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.