Software Engineer Builds Kick-ass Electric Daytona Replica

By Ben Wojdyla

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Software engineer Raul Atkinson doesn't think all electric cars should be boring and look like robot suppositories. As a result he built this slick, all-electric Daytona replica he calls the Raptor.

Over the course of the 2000 hour project, Atkinson fitted a 3-phase AC induction motor and 290 NiMH batteries along with a motor controller and some body work to remove accommodations for exhaust tips. The result is a silent but deadly Daytona capable of 0-60 MPH times around 8 seconds, top speed of 100 MPH and a range of 80 between 3 hour recharges. Pretty cool project if you ask us.

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Our only beef comes from Atkinson himself, asserting "I can do what GM couldn't." Well, kinda; He certainly can build an electric car for an estimated $85,000, but it won't pass basic FMVSS vehicle requirements much less IIHS crash testing methodologies, hasn't been certified for sale in the US, hasn't undergone durability and environmental testing, doesn't have anyone to assemble it, factories to support the production, a distribution network, warehouses of parts to maintain it... or a rabid market ready to snap up expensive two-seat all-electric sports cars with limited range. So yes, he can do it, in a one off, and GM isn't going to repay the taxpayers with incredibly expensive one-offs. [NBC Bay Area]

Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area