The Flux Capacitor is a little less refined than a Model S, as you might expect. Like a Tesla, all that speed happens in the absence of a roaring engine. But the sensation of speed was augmented by the fact that you sit so low to the ground and that the car is tightly packaged. With such little mass and so much power, that should have been expected. We've been fortunate enough to drive some extremely rapid cars this year, and even on this power setting, the Flux Capacitor felt at least as rapid as a McLaren 650S and quicker than a Tesla P90D ( even in Ludicrous mode).

The first time Smith floored it was a revelation, the Nitto drag radials happily leaving a pair of long black lines on the road outside Smith's house. With the battery management system set to deliver 1400A, it was also extremely fast.Īctually, that undersells the experience. Buckled into the four-point harness in the passenger seat, it was extremely apparent both how small the car was (just 112 inches or 2.84m long) and how light, too (1.874lbs/850kg). After a nice cup of tea and a chat about the car's build, it was time to strap in and go for a ride despite a light drizzle. Sitting in Smith's garage, the Flux Capacitor was parked next to an unrestored sister car, which provided a stark image of how much work had gone into the reborn EV. The 144 cells give the Flux Capacitor 370v, more than 2000A, and weigh just 320lbs (145kg). Their original application? Powering the minigun (and starting the turboshaft engines) of a Bell AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopter. The cells come from Korean battery-maker Kokam. After much searching, Smith settled on lithium-ion batteries assembled by Hyperdrive Innovation (who also built the battery management systems). One option would be a supercapacitor, but the cost would have been prohibitive. As a drag racer, the Flux Capacitor didn't need long-range, but rather 10-second bursts of large amounts of power. The batteries were Smith's greatest challenge. It now has a pair of DC Current Racing electric motors in series, connected to that Ford rear axle via a six-inch propshaft (yes, you read that correctly). But the most significant work went into the new powertrain. Instead of 10-inch steel wheels it now rides on 12-inch fronts and 14-inch rears (complete with street-legal drag radials). New brakes were needed, bespoke discs at the front and Ford drums at the rear, and it got a wheel upgrade, too. It had a top speed of 40mph (64km/h), hit 30mph (48km/h) in 12.5 seconds, and had a range of between 35 and 55 miles (56-89km). It was designed by John Ackroyd-also responsible for the Thrust 2 land speed record car-and featured an aluminum body, eight 12v batteries, and a direct drive 8hp (6kW) electric motor. The Flux Capacitor started life as an Enfield 8000, an EV commissioned by a Greek tycoon following the oil shock of 1973. Is it surprising that we love the Flux Capacitor here at Ars? After all, overclocking older hardware and the color orange are two things intimately associated with this site. We've been eagerly following Smith's project for a while now, and while visiting the UK last month finally we got the opportunity to take a closer look and go for a ride. The idea is simple: take one 1970s electric vehicle-the kind that (fairly or not) gave electric cars a bad name-and replace the running gear and batteries with something much more up-to-date, making Europe's fastest street-legal EV in the process.

His current project-called the Flux Capacitor-is no exception. Jonny Smith is a British car journalist (you may know him best from Fifth Gear) with an interesting perspective on all things automotive. We got a ride in Jonny Smith's latest labor of love, the Flux Capacitor.

Flux capacitor