Le Mans news - Electric circuit - 2009

Diesel has dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the last three years, but could the future of the endurance race be electric?

Racing outfit GreenGT thinks so. The Swiss firm has unveiled this design study that, they say, previews an all-electric Le Mans entrant in 2011.

Based around a carbon fire chassis and fibreglass body, the GreenGT car is powered by a pair of electric motors putting some 450bhp and, more significantly, a simply monstrous 1,475lb ft of torque to the rear wheels.

In a car weighing just 860kg, that's good for a 0-60mph time of around four seconds - the problem, we suspect, will be getting all that torque down onto the track effectively - and a top speed of around 170mph.

Batteries will be the big issue, though. Powerpacks that can store enough energy to supply that sheer amount of power for dozens of laps simply don't exist at the moment  - at least, none that weigh less than several tonnes. The answer, surely, is replacing battery packs at pitstops, but nonetheless, we're still a long way off.

But GreenGT is convinced that the technology will develop within the next couple of years. It promises to have a pair of electric cars at Le Mans in 2011, followed by a curiously precise 22 road-going models within three years.

We'll see. We'll see...