On Thu, 14 Jan 1999, Susan Hensley wrote:
> I can see it now... "POWERED BY LUCAS"
>
> No-o-o-o-o-o! Tell me it's not so!!!
Well, I found the article, in _The Vintage Triumph_ #51. Oddly it does
not mention the origin of either electric motor or batteries. Hmmm. :-)
Meanwhile, it dates the car as a dark red 1979, with the four-speed w/OD
gearbox kept in place. Apparently the swap wasn't such a bad idea,
cutting some three seconds off a published 0-60 time in a _Road & Track_
test of a more conventionally powered Spitfire (12.4 sec. v 15.4 sec for
the gas-powered Spit). Top speed with the electric motor, though, is only
72 mph, down from 94 mph with the gas engine.
> Atwell Haines wrote:
> >
> > >...$4K doesn't seem too bad,
> > >actually, for a "PC" Spitfire. :-)
> >
> > But Andy, if it is a Microsoft PC Spitfire, don't buy it. Next year it
> > will cost half as much, go twice as fast, but crash 3 times as often!
Perish the thought, Atwell. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines
of a politically correct sports car, not a piece of cr*p, er, personal
computer Spitfire. Oops, Freudian slip; wonder why grammar check didn't
catch that. :-)
> > Then there is the Y2K problem....
Y2K? Because most people thought 4K was too much?
I'll stop now....
--Andy
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