SlashGear

What’s bright red, has an almost comically-long chin and bug-eyes?  No, not my ex-wife (yes, Marion, your damned check is in the mail) but the latest incarnation of the Factory Five ‘33 Hot Rod, perhaps the best alternative to a pious Prius we’ve seen so far.  Factory Five took the regular planet-destroying engine out and replaced it with a custom 300+ horsepower electric drive that musters over 660ft/lbs of torque and pegs 0-60mph times of four seconds.

While the car may look altogether retro in its aesthetics, some serious effort went into the design.  Factory Five worked with HP and SolidWorks CAD to perfect the electric fit-out, using UQM technologies electric drive and A123 Systems lithium-ion batteries for a range of over 100 miles from a single charge.

Admittedly an open-top hot rod isn’t quite as practical as a five-door hatch for doing the weekly shop, and while no pricing has been announced we doubt Factory Five will be pegging the electric ‘33 Hot Rod anywhere near Toyota sort of prices.  Come the collapse of civilisation, though, there probably won’t be any stores anyway, and those performance stats will sound a whole lot better when you’re trying to outrun the inevitable mutants.

[via Born Rich]