While some of the more exotic sports cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show can only claim green credentials, we have discovered one that actually delivers. Ken Okuyama, formerly of General Motors, Porsche and Pininfarina presented his electric vision in the form of the sleek beauty you see pictured above, the K.08. Sharing a lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum chassis with its more traditionally-powered stablemate, the K.07, this automotive katana is all function and silent power. If you prefer its topless twin or just wish to collect them all, there are plans to electrify it as well. The two models represent the beginning of Ken Okuyama Cars, a company with plans for new models each year.

Production of the K.08 will be handled by MODI in Japan with a limited edition of 99 vehicles. Lithium ion is the battery tech employed and its three phase motor will put out 100kw. The price? If you have to ask... For more details check out the press release at the jump.

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

We were starting to worry. It has been 9 months since we first heard about the all electric Lightning GT sports car from England. At the time there were photographs of a sleek blue sports car with lines and curves revealing an unmistakably British pedigree. There was talk of the incorporation of the latest technological breakthroughs from both Altairnano and PML Flightlink. There was boasting of Tesla Roadster-like performance and whispers of a Ferrari-like price tag.

Since then, nothing. Had it been a figment of our collective imagination? Had they shuffled off this mortal coil or were they merely just pining for the fjords? Unlike other companies in the process of developing electric cars, there have not been company blogs keeping everyone up to date on the latest technological development or thoughts and musings of its founders and monied investors. No daily avalanche of press releases, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. There hasn't even been so much as a drizzle of debate on internet forums as to whether the company is legit or its product is vaporware. There has only been a kind of unsettling silence that has kept me repeatedly scurrying back to their website or doing the occasional Google news search for any signs of recent respiratory activity. That is, until now.

Now, not only is there a press release to confirm that The Lightning Car Company still lives but there are new photographs pictures revealing that the car has undergone a modernizing redesign. Have the in-wheel motors survived the redesign? How about the Nanosafe battery? Hit the jump to find out.



[Source: The Lightning Car Company via EV World]

I could'a had a V8. Ever heard that one? Sure, people like their cars to be powerful and fun to drive. It used to be that there was a distinction between the term "sports car" and "muscle car". Sure, sports cars must be quick to accelerate and change direction, but they don't require honkin' V8 engines to be an enjoyable ride. Muscle cars, historically, were not built to go fast around corners but to blast the ol' 1320 in as little time as possible. In fact, having a huge lump of iron under the hood of your sportscar often has a negative impact on driving dynamics. Take a good look at what Lotus has done and is still doing for an excellent example of what we are talking about.

Take a look at this blog posting at The Detroit News. It seems that the writer knows only the joys of straight-line acceleration. Mind you, we are not advocating underpowered cars, just pointing out that a vehicle need not have a V8 engine to be fun to drive.

[Source: The Detroit News]