800px-Water_drop_001What about a gull-winged luxury car with the performance of the fastest modern supercar and all that running on salt water? The Quant e-Sportlimousine is approved for real-world testing on public roads by Germany’s highway safety administration, TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein).

The car was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March. Its wheelbase stretches 207 inches, slightly longer than that of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The supercar is a four-seater layout with 8,555 lb-ft. torque. Each wheel is driven independently by its own electric motor to give it AWD with torque vectoring. The four motors would have a peak output of 912 hp and operating power of 643 hp.

The e-Sportlimousine is essentially a very powerful electric vehicle, but unlike most of the electric vehicles we have seen, the supercar doesn’t need recharging. The car is powered by Nano Flowcell, a technology inicially developed in the 70s for use by NASA. A flow-cell battery circulates liquid electrolyte through two tanks, with a membrane in between. This way an electric charge passes through the membrane, providing power for the motors. The electricity from the flow-cell battery is stored in huge capacitors, then drawn by the electric motors and turned into speed.

All that leads to some impressive figures: 0 to 62 mph takes 2, 8 seconds and the car will reach the top speed of 236 mph. The automaker claims that its e-Sportlimousine has a driving range of up to 372 miles. Unfortunately, the Quant uses expensive materials and the car is likely to cost nearly £1 million.

Having been certified for use in European roads, sooner or later the flow-cell technology will enter the market, and then both the Oil Cartels and the electric automobile makers will be threatened by the saltwater powered cars.

When such a car ever sees the light of day on our roads, would you drive it?

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