TOLEDO, OHIO -- Next week at Michigan International Speedway, about a dozen electric vehicles will take part in the so called X-Prize competition and one of the top vehicles in the event has its roots in Toledo.
In fact, the Zap Alias has been undergoing road and performance testing at Toledo Speedway this summer. The Zap is a three-wheeled electric vehicle that was first developed in Toledo a few years ago as a prototype for the Zap car company of California. It has been a work in progress since that time and has proven itself to be a highly efficient electric vehicle capable of doing more than 70 miles per hour for 100 miles, the standard of peformance required by all of the X-prize competitors.
The car has a body made from carbon fiber and has a sleek exotic look which draws many stares from onlookers. Engineers are quick to point out that it is not a hybrid vehicle but is fully electric, using a system of lithium batteries to power the 167 electric horsepower engine. Alex Campbell, with Zap Motors in Santa Rosa, California, says the car can recharge from household current in just a matter of a few hours. Campbell says the Alias holds great potential as a future production vehicle in the United States as the market for electric vehicles continues to increase.
For now, however, the prime market is in Asia and the comapny has recently merged with a manufacturing firm in China. They hope to begin production and marketing of the Alias vehicles very soon.
In the meantime, the testing continues in Toledo as the Zap prototype is being readied for its the rigorous and all important appearance at MIS next week. At the wheel; as the test driver will be Al Unser, Junior, who reportedly is enamored with its handing and zippy performance.
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