Lightning LS-218

Last updated
Lightning LS-218
Lightning LS-218 (19805047992).jpg
Manufacturer Lightning Motorcycle
Production2014–
Class Electric sportbike
Engine Liquid-cooled 150 kW electric motor
Top speed218 mph (351 km/h) [1]
Power 200 hp (150 kW) [1]
Torque 168 lb⋅ft (228 N⋅m) [1]
Transmission Direct drive
Weight496 lb (225 kg)[ citation needed ] (wet)

The Lightning LS-218 is an electric motorcycle engineered, designed and produced in America by Lightning Motorcycle, that has been in production since 2014. [2] It has held the title of the world's fastest street-legal production electric motorcycle since 2014. [1]

With a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h), the production LS-218 is faster than any other street-legal electric motorcycle, and tops the list of fastest production motorcycles. [3] [4] While the 218 mph top speed of the LS-218 was arrived at through calculations of power and wind resistance, the speed was proven at Bonneville Speedway using an LS-218 modified from street-legal form, using "high speed gearing and fairing". [5]

A race-modified LS-218 won the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in open competition against both gasoline and electric motorcycles, ridden by professional racer Carlin Dunne. [6] The Pikes Peak victory was historic as the first time an electric motorcycle beat internal-combustion rivals in a professional road race. The Lightning team's Pikes Peak race was conducted entirely off-grid, and relied on solar panels to charge the LS-218 racer, making it the first vehicle of any type to win a professional road race using solar power. [7]

The LS-218's standard battery pack's capacity is 12 kWh (43 MJ). [3] Adding a 20 kWh battery pack gives a range of 160–180 mi (260–290 km). [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric bicycle</span> Bicycle with an integrated electric motor

An electric bicycle is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and typically are motor-powered up to 25 to 32 km/h. High-powered varieties can often travel more than 45 km/h (28 mph).

Brammo, Inc. was an American producer of electric traction motors and traction batteries based in Talent, Oregon, United States. Brammo also developed and sold a range of electric motorcycles via the company's website and motorcycle dealers throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric motorcycles and scooters</span> Plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels

Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery which drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a step-through frame, instead of being straddled. Electric bicycles are similar vehicles, distinguished by retaining the ability to be propelled by the rider pedalling in addition to battery propulsion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi e-tron (brand)</span> Series of electric and hybrid cars

The Audi e-tron is a series of electric and hybrid cars shown by Audi from 2009 onwards. In 2012 Audi unveiled a plug-in hybrid version, the A3 Sportback e-tron, released to retail customers in Europe in August 2014, and slated for the U.S. in 2015. A decade after the unveiling of the first e-tron concept at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany, Audi's first fully electric e-tron SUV went into production in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar car</span> Type of solar vehicle

A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to power themselves fully or partially from sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable battery to help regulate and store the energy from the solar cells and from regenerative braking. Some solar cars can be plugged into external power sources to supplement the power of sunlight used to charge their battery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero Motorcycles</span> American manufacturer of electric motorcycles

Zero Motorcycles Inc. is an American manufacturer of electric motorcycles. Formerly called Electricross, it was founded in 2006 by Neal Saiki, a former NASA engineer, in Santa Cruz, California. The company is now located nearby in Scotts Valley.

Mission Motors was an American company founded in 2007 in San Francisco, California. The company was founded with the aim of creating high-performance, electric motorcycles, but later became a supplier of electric vehicle components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 918 Spyder</span> Plug-in hybrid hypercar

The Porsche 918 Spyder is a sports car manufactured by German marque Porsche. The 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid powered by a mid-mounted naturally aspirated 4.6 L (4,593 cc) V8 engine, developing 447 kW at 8,700 RPM, with two electric motors delivering an additional 210 kW for a combined output of 652 kW (875 hp) and 1,280 N⋅m (944 lbf⋅ft) of torque. The 918 Spyder's 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack delivers an all-electric range of 19 km (12 mi) under the US Environmental Protection Agency's five-cycle tests.

Rimac Automobili is a Croatian car manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces electric sports cars, drivetrains and battery systems. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac. Rimac Automobili's first model, the Concept One, was the world's fastest production electric vehicle. While manufacturing and marketing high-performance vehicles under its own brand, Rimac also develops and produces battery packs, drivetrain systems, and vehicles for other companies. The Applus+ IDIADA Volar-E is an example of a product developed for another company. During the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018, the company unveiled its second model, the Rimac Nevera.

Brandon Nozaki Miller, also known by the user name RIAEvangelist, is an American software developer and motorcyclist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimac Concept One</span> Motor vehicle

The Rimac Concept One, sometimes stylized as Concept_One, is a two-seat high-performance electric car designed and manufactured in Croatia by Rimac Automobili. With a total output of 913 kW and an acceleration time from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 2.5 seconds, the Rimac Concept One was claimed to be the world's fastest accelerating electric vehicle in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chip Yates</span> American inventor

Chip Yates is an American inventor and electrical vehicle pioneer best known for risky record-setting feats in electric vehicles of his own design. He designed and built the record-breaking SWIGZ electric motorcycle, which in 2011 he rode over 200 mph (322 km/h) to 8 official world land speed records, 4 AMA National Championship Records, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record, and the Guinness Book of World Records title of “World’s Fastest Electric Motorcycle”. Dubbed "the world’s most powerful electric superbike", the motorcycle is now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum's exhibit 'Electric Revolution', curated by Paul d'Orleans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution</span> Motor vehicle

The Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution is an electric motor racing car project, managed by Mitsubishi Motors. The project originated prior to 2012, producing a vehicle that entered in the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) event, and has undergone evolution and technical improvements in subsequent years. The 2014 version achieved 2nd and 3rd position overall in the 2014 PPIHC event, with run times within 3 seconds and 7 seconds (respectively) of the overall fastest vehicle, a gasoline-powered Norma race car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning Motorcycle</span> Electric motorcycle manufacturer based in America

Lightning Motorcycle Corp. is an American manufacturer of electric motorcycles. CEO and Founder Richard Hatfield started the company in 2006 in San Carlos, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric motorsport</span> Category of motor sport

Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different powertrains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella (solar vehicles)</span> Solar-powered family car

Stella and its successors Stella Lux, Stella Vie and Stella Era are a series of solar racing family cars, built for the World Solar Challenge in Australia, sofar winning its Cruiser Class all four times it was held – in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Stella is considered the world’s first solar-powered family car and was given the 'Best Technology Development' Award at the 8th annual Crunchies in San Francisco in 2015. Being the only competing vehicle with a license plate, the road registration of Stella contributed to the winning score in the races. The vehicles are designed and built by "Solar Team Eindhoven" (STE) — some 26 students of different faculties of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. The group have set up a non-profit foundation to promote their concepts for practical solar vehicles for adoption on a broader scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energica Ego</span> Type of all-electric sport motorcycle

The Energica Ego is an electrically propelled sport road motorcycle designed and marketed by Energica Motor Company. It is claimed by Energica to be the world's first street-legal electric Italian sport motorcycle. The prototype was finished in 2013 and the vehicle came into the market in 2015. The prototype made use of new technologies such as CNC and 3D-printing, including the dashboard and headlights which were 3D-printed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkswagen I.D. R</span> Electric race car

The Volkswagen I.D. R also known as Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, is a prototype fully electric vehicle designed as part of Volkswagen's I.D. Project, and included within Volkswagen's R series of cars designed specifically for competing in motorsport events. It is the first electric racing car designed by Volkswagen.

Speed with Guy Martin is a British documentary series for Channel 4, presented by Guy Martin, and narrated by Shaun Dooley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Avant, Jason. "World's Fastest Production Electric Motorcycle". Ride Apart. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  2. "Lightning Delivers 1st LS-218 Electric Superbike", Motorcycle USA, November 13, 2014
  3. 1 2 Blain, Loz (20 May 2014). "Too fast, too strong, too scary: Electric Lightning LS-218 will be the fastest production bike on the planet". Gizmag. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  4. Keeshin, Ben (13 November 2014). "WHO CARES THAT LIGHTNING'S LS-218 IS ELECTRIC? IT'S THE FASTEST MOTORCYCLE MONEY CAN BUY". Maxim Tech. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  5. "Greased Frightening – Lightning Motorcycle's Scary-fast LS-218: MD Riding Impression", Motorcycle Daily, June 8, 2015
  6. Lavrinc, Damon. "Lightning's Electric Motorcycle Dominates Pikes Peak". Wired. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. "Lightning Beats the World Best Gas Motorcycles at PPIHC | Lightning Motorcycles".

See also