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TesT No 49351/2
T
he voice at the other end of when at least 18 man hours have
the phone said, “The lads been burned up in creating the Top
are going to build a car Gear Car To Save The World. The car
TV
PHotoGRAPHY david shepperd
TV
PHotoGRAPHY david shepperd
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T RACK NOTES ROAD TEST No 4935 1/2
T3
DRy CiRCUiT
Hammerhead Eagle
i-Thrust DESigN AND ENgiNEERiNg
T6
3min 10sec
Tesla Roadster T2 T5 T7 BCCCC
1min 23.7sec
Hopelessly slow, but if we’re Although the Hammerhead
honest we didn’t fancy T1 Eagle i-Thrust may appear to be a
T4
going any faster. Massive Start/finish conventional three-box design (to
understeer followed very which a smaller fourth box has been
● So unstable that we very added, serving as a viewing turret
quickly by even more
nearly crashed on the way
pronounced oversteer. for a brave third passenger), beneath
to the dry circuit.
Dreadful steering. Powerful, ● Unreliable power supply meant the motor had its part-aluminium, part-plastic,
awfully balanced brakes. to be reset three times during our flying lap. part-wood exterior it is, in fact, a
genuine hybrid. There are so many
contributory factors to its technical
WET CiRCUiT ● The single wiper doesn’t actually make-up that it could, in fact, be more
Hammerhead Eagle work, limiting wet-weather ability. accurately described as a freak.
i-Thrust The basic running gear has been
na T5
T6 donated by a TVR Chimaera, so
Tesla Roadster the platform on which the hybrid
1min 15.5sec T7 powertrain sits should, in theory, be
T3
Top Gear engineering, fairly sound. There are ventilated steel
electricity and sprinklers disc brakes and double wishbones at
is not a combination T4 T8 each corner, while even the steering
that inspires a lot of rack has a touch of TVR to it.
confidence. We thought it The Nankang tyres, however, aren’t
● Panel gaps provide unique shower
safer to get out and walk. T2 quite of the same standard; their
T1 function during poor weather.
Start/finish
primary duty in life was to provide
the Citroën 2CV with its half-thimble
ACCElERATiON Cloudy, 11deg C of grip. And attached to the 1200kg
i-Thrust, they are not, as we’ll discover,
HAmmERHEAD EAglE i-THRUST Standing quarter 23.4sec at 55.2mph quite as tenacious as they are on the
30mph 40mph 50mph Deux Cheveaux.
6.0s 9.3s 16.6s Where the Hammerhead Eagle
0 5s 10s 15s gets more intriguing technically is
TESlA ROADSTER Standing quarter 18.5sec at 76.0mph, standing km 26.3sec at 116.7mph, 30-70mph 4.3sec in the type, and location, of its
numerous power sources. The vast
30mph 40 50 60mph 70mph 80mph 90mph 100mph 110mph
Wales & Edwards electric motor
2.2s 3.0s 3.9s 5.0s 6.4s 8.4s 10.9s 14.3s 19.9s
0 5s 10s 15s 20s
(pinched straight out of a milk float
and producing a claimed 85kW)
BRAkiNg 30-0mph 17.9sec sits beneath the bonnet up front and
sends drive directly to the rear
167.5m
0 50m 100m
10.5m wheels, yet the 1� 12-volt lead
30mph-0 acid batteries that feed the motor sit
precariously, in various places, ◊
ON THE LIMIT
Never before have we tested a car where the limit Approach on a constant throttle and with so i-Thrust snaps violently into oversteer. During one
can be reached at such low speeds. Or in a straight little weight over the skinny front wheels the car such moment, the lateral forces were so great that
line. No doubt as a consequence of the absurd will understeer catastrophically. Try to regain the range-extending generator broke free of its
weight distribution (it makes a 911 look evenly front-end grip by braking and the fronts will simply mounts, crashing across the cabin. Fail to catch the
balanced), the i-Thrust is hugely susceptible to lock, at which point any attempt at cornering is resulting slide and again you will crash. This time
throttle and steering inputs. abandoned and you will crash. going backwards.
At anything above 20mph, just trying to keep it This seemingly unappealing outcome is the Hang on in there, though, and the i-Thrust will
going in a straight line needs steady nerves and an lesser of two evils, though; try lifting the throttle just sit there on opposite lock all the way through
even steadier hand. And because the i-Thrust lacks and such is the sensitivity of the electric motor a corner. So it’s intrinsically unsafe — lethal, even
ESP or ABS, you’re on your own if you get it wrong. and the enormity of the weight transfer that the — but surprisingly amusing at the same time.
Thhe
he i-Ti-Th
Thr
hrust
s
st
exhb
hhiibits a sliight
h
rearward weight
bias compared
with the TVR
30mph. That’s slightly concerning, rumbles from one location to the next,
given that the Highway Code says its bodywork flapping in the wind
the average stopping distance from as the 2CV tyres try their best – and
70mph is 215 feet. occasionally fail – to prevent the body
panels from rubbing on the floor.
RIdE ANd HANdLINg In many ways it serves as a stark
reminder of how far things have
CCCCC progressed in the realm of ride and
handling in recent years. But there is
The Eagle i-Thrust has no ride or something strangely likeable about
Out of juice after three miles. Doesn't bode well for the Land's End trip handling as such. Instead, it just the way it lurches around almost
T
CCCCC
hat’s right: in the end, and despite its showing one or two JAMIE CORSTORPHINE
There will only ever be one i-Thrust, very dim flashes of genius, it’s hard — no, it’s impossible — When does the Clubsport
and that’s probably a good thing, but version go on sale?
this does make it hard to attach an to regard the i-Thrust as a success.
accurate value to the car. Its hybrid system looks good on paper but fails to deliver JOBS fOR THE fACELIfT
Still, day-to-day running costs much in practice, its range and performance are rather pathetic
should be reasonable considering the l Metallic paint would
price of electricity, allied to the relative compared with anything else on four wheels, while its styling is be worth considering for
ease and affordability with which unlikely to win fans among those of us blessed with the gift of the Mk2 Hammerhead;
parts – such as its shed-sourced door it could be called the
handles – can be replaced. sight. And remember, a perfectly fit TVR Chimaera went to its HammerRight.
The main problem with running grave to bring us this monster. l Some sort of rear-
the i-Thrust every day would be the The creators of the i-Thrust are to be applauded, if only view mirror wouldn’t
inconvenience factor, given that its go amiss.
batteries need to be removed and because they have built a vehicle that exists and is capable of l Lose the clutch pedal
recharged every 20-25 miles. But providing actual transport for three people without too much on the Mk2. It’s hardly
then, as Daimler-Benz discovered worth having; in fact,
over a century ago, you’ve got to start destruction to our troubled climate. As to whether it will help why is it there at all?
somewhere before you can progress. save the world or not, the answer is probably not.