Ian Wright is a name familiar to many electric car enthusiasts as the man who turned an Ariel Atom into the Ferrari-beating Wrightspeed X1 prototype. It's been a while since we've heard from Mr. Wright, who has been working on engineering a hybrid system for heavy duty pick-up trucks, but now there is news from the former Kiwi. And if you are still disappointed Wrightspeed didn't bring the X1 to market, the news is good. According to Michael Kanellos over at greentechmedia, the builder of the world's quickest electric car wants to produce a conveyance that's even quicker, with a 0 to 60 mph target of 2.5 seconds.

You see, back when Wright was visiting different tracks embarrassing Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, it seemed there was one gas guzzler that still could best him, the infamous 1001hp Bugatti Veyron. The X1 came up about a half second short from 0-60 mph while his 0-100-0 time of 11.2 seconds was a full second and a two whiskers behind that of the W16-powered supercar. With luck, 18 months from now will see a newly-fashioned, battery-powered bolt of lightning, code-named the "SR-71", destroy the Bugatti, leaving in its wake only salty $1.4 million-dollar tears. To show he's not such a bad chap, Wright will then be able to turn those frowns upside-down by offering this new machine up for sale.

Though sanctioned tracks may be the only asphalt the first "SR-71"s will be licensed to circulate, thoroughly road-ready machines, quite possibly featuring enclosed cabins, will follow after an additional 18 months. Hit the jump to watch a few videos of the original creation, the Wrightspeed X1, take on all comers.

About a month ago, Autoblog reported on the possibility of BMW attacking the small SUV market with a new model that would could proudly bear the X1 moniker. Today, Car Magazine released details on the soon-to-be, eco-minded baby Bimmer.

The X1 is expected to weigh in at 3377 lbs, about 440 lbs lighter than the X3, and measure about 10 fewer inches in length. No word on fuel mileage or performance yet, but the Werks will be offering a wide range of power plants which includes three diesels...

• 1.8i - 145bhp 1.8-liter gas-powered 4-cylinder
• 2.0i - 175bhp 2.0-liter gas-powered 4-cylinder
• 2.5si - 220bhp 2.5-liter gas-powered 6-cylinder
• 1.8d - 135bhp 1.8-liter diesel-powered 4-cylinder
• 2.0d - 180bhp 2.0-liter diesel-powered 4-cylinder
• 3.0d - 231bhp 3.0-liter diesel-powered 6-cylinder
  

As you may have guess, we should see a plethora of BMW features such as stability control, HDC hill descent control, DBC dynamic brake force distribution, CBC cornering brake control, TSC trailer stability control and DTC dynamic traction control. What you may not have expected is that BMW plans to offer three different roof modules. The customer will be able to choose from full-length tinted glass, two sunroofs or a targa-style roof with a removable mid-section.

In Europe, the X1 is targeted to sell in 2010 for less than 30,000 Euros which is about 3,500 Euros less than an entry-level X3.

Car doesn't mention whether or not the X1 will be sold in America, but given success of the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V, I'd be surprised if we didn't see it. The larger question is which engine choices we'll get. And just maybe, the little X will bring along the rest of its 1-series friends to American shores.

[Source: Car Magazine]