Equipped with four in-wheel electric motors, the Electric Raceabout can hit 60 MPH in less than five seconds. And with suspension borrowed from the Audi R8, it should probably handle pretty well.

The best thing about electric cars is the democratization of production. Sure, they have rally drivers, but Finland doesn't have much of a proud automotive manufacturing tradition. Students from Helsinki Metropolia University want to change that, starting with electric cars. Electricity gives them the ability to purchase entire powertrains off the shelf for competitive prices and those powertrains are compact and modular, meaning they allow for a number of different packaging solutions.

Weighing just 2,800 pounds, the Raceabout nevertheless packs enough lithium ion batteries behind the seats to deliver a range approaching 200 miles and a top speed around 125 MPH.

Its designers plan to enter the Electric Raceabout in September's Automotive X-Prize competition and, if they're successful there, raise enough money to put the car into small-scale production in its native country. [Raceabout via Autoblog.nl]