The most unlikely drag race winner you’ll see this week
If you pulled up to the lights in a Dodge Viper and saw a BMW i8 next to you, you’d be feeling pretty confident about smoking them in a drag race right?
So if you looked to the other side and saw a Mercedes Vito van you’d be laughing all the way to the chequered flag. Right again? Wrong.
Well only if that Vito happened to be the brainchild of Silicon Valley-based outfit Atieva.
The company have developed an electric van equipped with a staggering 900-horsepower that they have lovingly called Edna. Edna has already proved itself against some worthy opponents and this time it was the turn of both the Dodge Viper and BMW i8 to feel Edna wrath and that they did.
The BMW saved some face for the mainstream automotive industry clocked at 3.8 seconds 0-60mph and dusting the ¼ mile in just over 12. The Viper also managed 0-60mph in a respectable 3.4 seconds but then dropped off towards the end.
However, Edna ripped to 60mph in just 2.94 seconds, completing the ¼ mile in just 11.3 seconds topping out at a notable 117mph.
Traditional petrol heads have been quick to point out that the Viper can clock a quarter mile in well under 12 seconds, so could have come first on its day. But it didn’t so we will leave that there.
But how does Edna do it? Well Atieva have spent a lot of time testing data to fine to Edna’s AC induction motors, making sure they maximize performance at low speeds before improving the vehicle at higher speeds.
It’s worked so well that not only did Edna leave these guys for dust, but still had enough juice to drive 90 miles’ home with ease.
Atieva have plans to transfer this tech into a sedan that could hit public roads as soon as 2018. But in the meantime if you don’t quite believe the hype you can test Edna’s performance against that of your own vehicle here.
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