Shrygue
November 26th, 2009, 22:20
via Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/25/top-gear-builds-hammerhead-eagle-i-thrust-an-er-ev-to-answer-th/)
Many electric vehicle fans out there are constantly complaining about how long it's taking automakers to bring plug-in vehicles to market. We've had commenters on this site claim that automakers should be able to bring EVs to the street in six months. Apparently even six months is too long for the crew at Top Gear.
For those unfamiliar with the format of the show, most episodes involve the producers giving a challenge of some sort to hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. The most recent episode, aired this week on the BBC in the UK, included just such a challenge. The boys were tasked to build their own answer to the extended-range EV Chevrolet Volt.
In a mere 18 hours they transformed a TVR Chimaera (interesting choice since a chimaera is a mythological creature composed of parts of a number of animals) into the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust pictured above. Once the i-Thrust was completed, it was turned over to Autocar magazine for an independent road test. As you might guess based on the photo, the results were not surprising and are a testament to perhaps taking all the time you need when developing a car. You can grab a copy of AutoCar's full road test as a PDF or just watch the entire Top Gear segment and video of the Autocar road test after the jump, right here (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/25/top-gear-builds-hammerhead-eagle-i-thrust-an-er-ev-to-answer-th/).
Many electric vehicle fans out there are constantly complaining about how long it's taking automakers to bring plug-in vehicles to market. We've had commenters on this site claim that automakers should be able to bring EVs to the street in six months. Apparently even six months is too long for the crew at Top Gear.
For those unfamiliar with the format of the show, most episodes involve the producers giving a challenge of some sort to hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. The most recent episode, aired this week on the BBC in the UK, included just such a challenge. The boys were tasked to build their own answer to the extended-range EV Chevrolet Volt.
In a mere 18 hours they transformed a TVR Chimaera (interesting choice since a chimaera is a mythological creature composed of parts of a number of animals) into the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust pictured above. Once the i-Thrust was completed, it was turned over to Autocar magazine for an independent road test. As you might guess based on the photo, the results were not surprising and are a testament to perhaps taking all the time you need when developing a car. You can grab a copy of AutoCar's full road test as a PDF or just watch the entire Top Gear segment and video of the Autocar road test after the jump, right here (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/25/top-gear-builds-hammerhead-eagle-i-thrust-an-er-ev-to-answer-th/).