Move Over, Prius: Meet the Raptor
A software engineer hopes to change the electric car industry with a souped-up coupe he built himself
By MARIE C. BACA
Updated 7:43 PM CST, Thu, Jul 9, 2009
Most people hope to come home from the Marin County Fair with a blue ribbon, but Raul Atkinson dreams of leaving with a large chunk of cash and a plan for saving the environment.
It's a lofty goal for a small-town software engineer, but then again, Atkinson has never been one to think small. While stuck in traffic during his commute from his home in San Anselmo, north of San Francisco, he decided that he was tired of paying for gas. When the search for an affordable and attractive electric car ended unsuccessfully, he decided to build his own.
Two years and 2,000 hours of labor later, Atkinson has a sleek all-electric sports car called "The Raptor" he will exhibit at the fair as a first step toward revolutionizing the American automobile industry.
"I can do what GM couldn't," he said.
Atkinson worked on the Raptor on evenings and weekend at a rented space at S-Car-Go Racing in San Anselmo. He used the body of a 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe that he built from a kit, modifying it slightly to remove the exhaust pipe and eliminate the radiator scoop.
The car runs on a 3-phase AC induction motor and is currently powered by 290 nickel metal hydride batteries (Atkinson says the next version will use a lithium ion battery). It can reach speeds up to 100 MPH and can travel from zero to 60 mph in about eight seconds. The time it takes to charge the car is typically three hours, which will allow it to travel up to 80 miles depending on the driving environment.
Although Atkinson estimates the production price of the Raptor to be a relatively steep $85,000, he believes that it could be mass-produced cheaply enough to offer consumers an alternative to the ubiquitous Toyota Prius.
Whether or not he will have the chance to test that assumption depends on what happens at the fair.
"I don't want to compete with Tesla," said Atkinson. "I just want to create something that is affordable and will make a difference."
First Published: Jun 29, 2009 3:32 PM CST
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