The freshly unveiled all-electric Lightning GT we showed you yesterday is certainly garnering a lot of attention and video tape at this years British International Motor Show. We received a message from British electric-car vlogger, Danny, telling us he had footage of the hi-tech silver beauty having its shroud publicly removed. We rushed to watch it and happily discovered he also had his own mini Q & A session with Lightning Car Company representative, Chris Dell. We got to hear some very interesting tidbits that answer some of the questions we've been getting. For instance, the range is less than we hoped for at about 150 to 180 miles (this should come as no surprise since the Altairnano batteries only have half the energy density of the cells used by Tesla). However, the size of the 36 Kwh battery pack can be increased. Mr Dell informs us the "nought to sixty" time should be under 4 seconds with its top speed limited to 130 mph. Just as impressive as its Tesla-challenging numbers was the way it looked with its linen removed, spinning on the turntable.

Another comment we heard a lot yesterday was that it's still vapor because it's not driveable. Our second video, though brief, dumps a lake full of cold water on this assumption. From RockaboxMedia comes teaser footage of the Lightning GT looking quite at home on a length of track. In true teaser fashion, most of the clip is soundless and in slow-motion but they promise they will bring us a full documentary on the creation and launch of the car. Unfortunately, they aren't sharing the embed code so you must go to YouTube to see it.

The last video we want to bring to your attention today is an Al Jazeera news piece that seems to hold the spotlight on the Lightning GT. We are briefly shown the NICE Mega City but most of the report seems to be spent contrasting the Tesla Roadster with the new UK contender. Find out which vehicle the British-accented presenter prefers as well as Danny's video after the jump.


[Source: Danny's Contentment / YouTube]

The moment many green-loving speed enthusiasts have been impatiently waiting for has finally arrived with the unveiling of the all-new Lightning GT at the British International Motor Show. The sheet was pulled back around 1 o'clock London time to reveal metal that stays quite true to the earlier rendered version. The long hood has sexy curves that deliver more than a twinge of lust but with a fascia that evokes the eloquence of an Aston Martin, it retains a classy British feel. A walk around the back reveals a brief rounded rear deck with no exhaust pipes to spoil the view. While we couldn't cross the pond for the event, the Lightning Car Company folks were kind enough to supply pictures for the gallery below.

Though quite similar performance-wise, the Lightning GT's builders believe they have some solid advantages over the Tesla Roadster in the technology department. The British sports car features Altairnano batteries which are capable of receiving a full charge in as little as 10 minutes and can last for over 10 years. No transmission troubles here either since the 4 PML Flightlink Hi-Pa Drive™ motors are in the wheels. A high mechanical efficiency is maintained with this all-wheel drive design that also aids greatly in brake regeneration and traction control. With all that function comes a bit of comfort as well. Full leather, air conditioning, sat nav and electronic door entry are all part of the £120,000 package. The Lightning GT team are also able to customize vehicles with made-to-measure interiors and even bodywork modifications, according to the customers wishes. Orders have already been received. If you wish to join this exclusive line-up you'll need to throw down £15,000 and be prepared to wait at least a year.


[Source: The Register]

The "Electric Vehicle Village" at the British International Motor Show is getting another sports car to keep the Tesla Roadster, also to be on display, from completely hogging the electric-car limelight. The British designed and built Lightning GT will get its world-wide debut at the show which begins on the 23rd of July. Previously we've only been privy to renderings such as the one above and those in the gallery below and are looking forward to seeing what customers will be getting for their £120,000 ($237,716.55) investment.

Though no names were mentioned, it has been disclosed that "lots of people" including several celebrities have already coughed up the £15,000 ($29,716.42) deposit to go to the front of the queue. We would hazard a guess that Top Gear presenter and electric car non-aficionado, Jeremy Clarkson, is not one of those celebrities despite the fact that, with a claimed 0 to 60 time of 4 seconds and a 130 mph top speed, it is no G-Wiz.


[Source: The Guardian]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Lightning GT

Featuring PML Flightlink Hi-Pa Drive™ in-wheel motors and the Altairnano NanoSafe™ rechargeable, nano titanate batteries along with a Carbon fiber and Kevlar® composite bodywork with aluminum honeycomb crushable impact cells and a £150,00 price tag, the Lightning GT is one electric car that we're really hoping for. Just because we wish we could buy it today doesn't mean we have the cashola to do so, we're just sayin'.


Which car is lucky Number 13?

Click on the photo a a gallery of high res images of the Lightning GT

After we posted the initial information on the Lightning GT yesterday, we contacted Arthur Wolstenholme, the Technical Director at the Lightning Car Company, to get more information on the new car. At this time they only have gas engine powered prototypes running that are being used for chassis development. The first battery-powered version should be running later this year.

The Lightning GT engineers won't have to worry about working out the blending of the regenerative braking and friction braking because there is no friction braking. The Lightning will rely entirely on regen from the wheel motors. For those of you high-performance electric car enthusiasts that were hoping to see this as an alternative to the Tesla Roadster, don't hold your breath to see this one come across the pond any time soon.

The Tesla will look cheap by comparison with an initial price estimate of £150,000 (roughly $300,000) the Lightning will definitely be only for the thick-walleted greenie. Lightning is clearly looking to recoup the entire cost of the Altairnano batteries and composite structure up front rather than selling clean air credits like Phoenix. No annual volume estimates are available until they see how many orders and how many batteries they can get. Initially the cars will be available in the UK only with a left hand drive version for the continent coming after that. If the company survives that they will consider the US market and what it would take to certify the car here.

[Source: Lightning Car Company]