The real shock comes not from the performance or range, but the price. While the electricity used to power the electric Range Rover might cost pennies-per-mile, the cost of entry is going to be somewhere near a whopping $190,000 to $250,000. Shrier's not worried though, he's targeting London's early adopting elite as his initial customer base. He then claims sales of the first few years' products will then fund the development of more affordable models.

Liberty, who have $60 million in capital to play with, are aiming to eventually create tens of thousands of electric vehicles per year and hundreds of jobs. By using existing platforms, they'll cut out non-power train development costs and safety regulations, while using high-end products like the Rangie guarantees a quality product. Expect to see small children and deaf blind people fleeing in terror through London's posher neighborhoods by 2010. [via Autocar]

The car Renault unveiled Sunday in Tel Aviv with Silicon Valley start-up Project Better Place was just a prototype with a cobbled-together battery, but the French automaker reportedly is prepared to spend as much as $1 billion developing EVs. Company CEO Carlos Ghosn hasn't confirmed that figure but says Nissan, which Renault owns, will offer an electric vehicle in California by 2010.

"This will not be a Star Wars prototype," he says. "It will be a car for sale."

Ghosn told the Telegraph he wants to build "a sexy electric car that will be fin to drive and without the environmental hit."

The Nissan joins BMW, Audi, Mitsubishi and Subaru in developing EVs for America in part to meet California rules that automakers put 7,500 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2014. But the automaker doesn't plan to make electrics a mere sideline - Ghosn says Renault and Nissan are committed to "becoming a global leader" in the production of affordable electric cars.

They're off to a strong start. Renault and Nissan signed a deal with Project Better Place in January to bring EVs to Israel. Renault will build the cars and Project Better Place will install 500,000 charging stations and 150 battery exchange depots throughout Israel.

The cars will use lithium-ion batteries developed by Nissan through its joint venture with NEC, although some may be fitted with batteries from A123 Systems. The batteries weigh about 400 pounds, and Renault says they'll provide a range of about 125 miles. The company plans to have several hundred EVs on the road in Israel within a year. Shai Agassi, who founded Project Better Place after leaving software giant SAP, says the start-up plans to use solar energy generated in the Negev Desert to power the vehicles.

Project Better Place has raised $200 million to finance the project, and the Israeli government has promised big tax breaks for electric vehicles. Denmark has signed on to Agassi's plan and hopes to begin offering electric cars by 2011. The Israeli newspaper Globes says an undisclosed Persian Gulf state is negotiating a similar arrangement.

These deals will only help Renault and Nissan develop the "range of electric vehicles" Ghosn has promised. According to the Sunday Times, he considers EVs the most important development within the auto industry and says Israel is the ideal place to launch them because it's a small country where people make short trips. He expects the first electric Nissans to be available to fleets in 2010 and to the mass-market by 2012.

Main photo: Associated Press. Second photo: Project Better Place.

That's a pretty good day out in the dunes and with power like that available at the base of a grade it's no wonder the announcement sparked substantial interest. According to the company, after announcing the all electric car, requests for quote have skyrocketed 1,056% in the week since. We see only two problems with all of this. First, Xtreme went out of their way to create the extremely tiresome ZES acronym — of course, Zero Emissions Sandcar, ugh. Second, it's going to be awfully spooky when a mid-flight sand car sails overhead in complete silence. [Xtreme Motorsports]

With Ferdinand at the wheel, the four motor car was a race winner and reached speeds of 37 mph. He would go on to add an on-board generator to another car to provide unlimited range and also predate the Chevy Volt by about 100 years. [CNNMoney] [Porsche]

On the hardware side, the HY-DRA operates on a A123 supplied Li-Ion battery pack good for 180 kW. The four motors deliver a peak output of 61 HP and a shocking 811 lb.ft. of torque. That kind of deity-like power will run this sucker up to 60 MPH in a short 6 seconds and go for a range of 25 clicks in all-electric, silent recon mode. This is only a demo vehicle and unfortunately no production is planned at this point, but this certainly opens up another option for the traveler on tomorrow's zombie infested highways.

At the heart of the system will be a battery capable of being swapped in and out repeatedly at a service plaza. In a press event on the topic, DONG brought an example of the battery which will be used in the cars, but would not allow photographs of its unit. [Treehugger]

What's the biggest problem with electric cars? Sure, some would say it's that they're too quiet, making them a danger to pedestrians, but that's been solved by a simple technology called Baseball Cards in the Spokes (or something like that). The real biggest problem is battery technology. But one company is testing a new formulation of lithium-ion batteries, using nanotechnology, which may offer e-cars a longer range and charging times acceptable to those who don't have all day to spare. Could they be the answer to the electric-car conundrum?

The Lithium-Ion Car [Technology Review]

Related:
More on the BlueCar: Batteries Up! [internal]

We can't help but be in the CalCars guys' corner on their quest to give the Toyota Prius hybrid full-electric capability. After all, as someone once said (Mark Twain? Henry Ford?) "tinkering is the best revenge over those who'd just as soon spit in your eye as say hello." (Hmm, that doesn't sound quite right). CalCars is a non-profit group of "entrepreneurs, engineers, environmentalists and consumers" who take on projects that promote its interest in national security, jobs and global warming. At an upcoming MAKE magazine event, CalCars engineers plan to hack a new Prius to make it plug-in capable, installing a battery pack and tweaking hardware and software so it can go all-electric. We won't tell if you don't. Oh, wait...

CalCars.org to modify Toyota Prius to "plug-in" hybrid at Maker Faire [MAKE]

Related:
Steve Lapp s Photovoltaic Prius Project [internal]

It may be on the pug side of pretty, but the Mullen GT supercar is fast as a bowl of fuck. Now, it's gotten a good greening. The company's working with Hybrid Technologies, which has fitted the GT with a high-performance electric-drive kit that's recast it as an e-supercar. Word is the zero-emissions version looks and performs identically to the fossil-fueled Mullen GT — zero to 60 in three seconds and a top speed of 180 mph. And next to the $600,000 Venturi F tish, the $125,000 Mullen looks like a helluva e-bargain.

180 mph Carbon Fiber Electric Supercar to cost US$125,000 [Gizmag]

Related:
More Electric Cars [internal]

If you still thought electric cars were only good for carrying pissed-drunk men wielding metal clubs, the Wrightspeed EV — shown in a video sent by one Jalopnik reader — will likely change your outlook in a hurry. Using an already quick-and-ready (and street legal) Ariel Atom open-wheel roadster as a donor car, creator Ian Wright stuffed in a high-tech electric motor from AC Propulsion (tZero, Tango), wired it up, and devised a faster-than-hell EV that can do zero-to-60 in a neckbone-threatening three seconds. Check out this video of a test drive — if you can get past the cyclonic wind noise. Insane. [Thanks to Eric for the tip.]

Wrightspeed ride along [via Revver]

Related:
UK's Ariel Atom Coming to the US; The Tango: Little Green Supercar [internal]

Our Los Angeles bro who cracks wise to Hollywood power, Defamer, posted a shot of actor George Clooney's new, Prodrive-built Tango 600 electric one-seater parked outside the star's trailer on set of "The Good German." Clooney took delivery of the electric wonder earlier this year, but to our knowledge has yet to attempt a 12-second quarter mile in it, though the company says such performance is possible. Still, after "Syriana" comes out next month, he may need that kind of juice to outrun the Trilateral Commission's black helicopters and poison-dart-firing ninjas on Suzuki Hayabusas.

George Clooney's Tiny Ride [Defamer]

Related:
George Clooney to Take Delivery of First Fast, Ugly Electric Tango [internal]

From 1997 to 2003, Toyota produced around 1,500 RAV4 electric vehicles, offering them for lease mainly to other companies as fleet vehicles. Well, as the clock ticks on the leases, Toyota has reversed its policy that the vehicles must be returned to them, allowing electric car-enthuiasts more time with their electro-cute-utes. Nice image move for the #1 Japanese automaker, more egg on the face of GM, who famously took its EV1s away for crushing in the face of highly-publicized protests.

Toyota will let drivers keep their electric vehicles [Duluth News Tribune]

Related:
Electric Car Dispute Leads to Arrests [Internal]