The Shelby Ultimate Aero EV Supercar has been unveiled along with some tantalizing details about this speed demon. Taking on the Tesla is no easy task, but the Shelby Aero EV reported can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in an amazing 2.5 seconds.
This is not your father’s electric car. The top speed is around 208 mph and the Shelby Ultimate Aero is not claiming to be the world’s fastest production electric car. According to Shelby Supercars the range of the vehicle is 150 – 200 miles and its recharging time is only 10 minutes with a 220 standard outlet.
This 1,000 hp electric supercar is now wowing many at the auto shows. The vehicle incorporates a new (All-Electric Scalable Powertrain) or AESP that can be scaled up or down depending upon the vehicle.
Now, even though the look and speed of this electric vehicle is wowing many, let’s do a little reality check on the 10 minute charge claim. I’ve heard this one before back in 2007 in regard to the Altair EV batteries.
According to IEEE Spectrum, “At issue are the awesome power levels required. To charge a 35-kWh battery in 10 minutes requires 250 kilowatts of power—five times as much as the average office building consumes at its peak. That rules out rapid charging at home. Even rapid-charge ‘filling stations’ stretch the imagination, as you’d need a megawatt power feed—generally available only at electrical substations—to simultaneously operate four power pumps. That is a stretch too far for even some staunch EV proponents.”
Now, Shelby Supercars hasn’t released any information about how many kilowatts of power its 10 minute charge consumes. But, if it is anything like the Altair batteries, then sucking down this much coal-power does not make it a very green vehicle at all.