No, it’s not a reincarnation of GM’s visionary but premature EV1 – far from it. The Strategic Recovery Institute (SRI)’s EV1, which was unveiled in October at the Lucas Oil Off-Road Expo in Los Angeles, is a fully electric off-road vehicle with 535 hp and 750 ft-lbs of torque. It has a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 125 mph, and is designed to sustain 1,200 miles or 35 hours of continuous operation (with battery swapping) in the world’s most challenging terrain.

Strategic Racing Designs built the structural components, and EV West designed and engineered the electric power plant for the SRI EV1. It will be displayed at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in November and the San Diego Auto show in December, and will be racing at two off-road events in Nevada later this year.

“Initially, we will compete head to head and side by side, with the existing state-of-the-art gas engines” says SRI founder Jeffrey Smith. “We are excited to be a part of the movement toward clean renewable energies and creating new jobs with exciting career prospects to help others who are underserved and less fortunate.”

There’s more to this story than winning races in the desert. In the future, EVs may have important military applications. The initial impetus for this project was a challenge by US Army Lieutenant General James Pillsbury (Ret), to design, build and race an all-electric car in the 2012 SCORE Baja 1000. According to General Pillsbury, the US military spends the equivalent of $435 a gallon for fossil fuels to be delivered to our combat troops. Racing the EV1 in Baja will demonstrate the superior performance and significant cost savings of electric vehicles (SRI estimates that motor and fuel costs for the Baja race will be less than a tenth those of legacy ICE vehicles).

Silent-running EVs are ideal for tactical Military, DEA or Border Patrol uses where stealth is required, and solar energy is abundant in many parts of the world where our forces operate.

Source: evwest.com