Electric sports cars are coming

Price: Approximately $400,000
The Fetish, for which Monaco-based Venturi first started taking orders in 2005, claims to have been the first true electric supercar. This 2-seater is made to order. Its 220-kilowatt motor moves the car from zero to 60 mph in less than four seconds. The Fetish boasted impressive numbers for 2005, but given the price of other electrics that produce similar performance, it now seems wildly expensive.

• First electric supercar? What about the Tesla Roadster?
• See how these conventional supercars compare.

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Price: Starts at $109,000
In 2008, Tesla Motors, the company founded by Silicon Valley wunderkind Elon Musk, unleashed the Tesla Roadster. This 2-passenger, all-electric car is based on a Lotus Elise chassis and outfitted with a 375-volt motor that can produce 295 lb-ft of torque and propel this little car from zero to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. The Sport model will make it in 3.7 seconds.

• Tesla had a plan with the Roadster.
• The Roadster might be hard to find.

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Price: Starts at $49,900, after $7,500 federal tax credit
The Model S is far more car than the Tesla Roadster, and starts at half the price. It reportedly seats up to five adults, and the standard 40-kilowatt-hour battery pack has a 160-mile range. The top-of-the-line Signature Performance Model S ($97,900) can rip from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 130 mph. All models also come with a futuristic 17-inch touch-screen center console.

• Check out more images of Model S.
• Did you know Tesla is building an SUV?

Watch Video:  Tesla at a Glance

Price: Starts at $102,000
If we had any sense of discipline about our subject, this car shouldn't be in this roundup, since it is not a pure electric. This is a similar powertrain configuration to the one in the Chevrolet Volt. The Karma cuts a sleek and sexy shape and promises respectable, if not mind-blowing, acceleration with a zero-to-60-mph time of 6.3 seconds.

• The Karma has had its issues.
• And is surrounded by plenty of drama.

Read Blog:  Fisker Karma Struggles in Road Test

Price: Estimated $300,000
It's hard to know what to expect from the British-based Lightning Car Co., but it says its upcoming GT electric supercar has a 150-mile range — up to 225 miles with an optional range-extender pack — twin 150-kilowatt electric motors that should deliver zero-to-60-mph times of less than five seconds, and a lithium-titanate battery system that the company says can recharge in 10 minutes.

• Never heard of the Lightning GT?
• Did you know Lithium-titanate batteries are already in use in vehicles such as Mitsubishi's i-MiEV.

Bing Images: Lightning GT

Price: Not yet determined
The Wrightspeed X1, a modified Ariel Atom with four 180-kilowatt motors driving the wheels, is not intended for production. Wrightspeed, based in Silicon Valley, is looking to sell its Circuit powertrain that powers the X1. The Circuit includes the battery, the generator and a geared-traction-drive, clutchless, electronic-shifting transmission system. The intent is to attract supercar manufacturers to the X1's demonstrated zero-to-60 mph times of less than three seconds.

• Check out what Road & Track had to say about this vehicle.
• See the X1 run.

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Price: Not yet determined
Audi has floated various concepts and plans for pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles under its e-tron label, and one of the most likely candidates for limited production is a full-electric version of its R8 supercar. Early concepts have shown the vehicle powered by both two and four motors, with either 230 kilowatts or 150 kilowatts of power, respectively. The four-motor version reportedly accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

• Jump behind the wheel of this land rocket.
• It's also available as a convertible.

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Price: Estimated $250,000
A limited all-electric production of Mercedes' gull-wing supercar is scheduled for model year 2013. The drivetrain in the company's bright yellow prototype has four motors — one for each wheel — producing a total of 649 lb-ft of torque. They get this car to 60 mph in less than four seconds. Unfortunately, the E-Cell goes only around 90 miles on a charge.

• Want to know how the E-Cell performs?
• Get some details on the SLS E-Cell.

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Sam Foley is a Connecticut-based automotive journalist who has written for GQ, Forbes, USA Today, the New York Post and various other publications.

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