It’s often said (you’ll certainly see it a lot here) that electric motors produce monstrous torque in comparison to their overall horsepower. It’s the force that causes your circular saw to accelerate with a slam, achieving 75% of its maximum RPM in a quarter second, and achieving full speed in the next 2-3 seconds. Scale that phenomemon up to a full-size car with a controller capable of feeding the necessary amps, and you’ve got a formula for some pretty exciting off-the-line acceleration.

But how much is a “lot” of torque?

Just to put things in perspective, check out this article about the new Bugatti Veyron, which is now the fastest road car in the world. At 1000 BHP, it soundly beats — no, humiliates — the performance of the previous record-holder, the McLaren F1. (My favorite oft-reported statistic: if the Veyron launches from a standstill as an F1 passes it at 120mph, the Veyron will beat the F1 to 200mph.)

The point I wanted to make here isn’t about power though; it’s about torque. Read to the end of the page at the above link — the torque that this massive quad-turbo W-16 engine produces is far and away the most ever seen from a road car, at 922 ft-lbs. That torque is directly related to the feel of acceleration you will experience from the car, and the number is truly unprecedented … from a road-going gas engine.

There is not yet any detailed information about maximum horsepower or torque available from the motor I’ve chosen, but with the earlier (shorter) prototype, I have dyno data indicating just a hair under 900 ft-lbs, at 1400 amps. With the longer armature section (i.e. more torque per amp), I expect the figure to be competitive with the Veyron.

And then of course, there’s that issue with amps — see, I won’t be limited to 1400A, as the guys at the motor shop were. My controller will be capable of 2000A on the motor side, and with a controller bypass perhaps 2500A or so is achievable at WOT. This puts torque output well past the most powerful road car ever built.

Reality check - notice I didn’t say power output. The ability to maintain a certain torque at a given RPM or vehicle speed is dependent on power. And there’s really no comparison with 1000BHP, at least not for $35k from my garage. Lest we conclude I’m having delusions of grandeur quoting my singular comparable statistic with such a product of engineering greatness, let’s enumerate some of the ways in which my project will NOT produce even a cheap electric mockery of a supercar:

• AWD. My truck will power the rear wheels; true supercars like the Veyron and the F1 send power to all four.
• Tires. I won’t have 14″ wide super-gummy tires in back, at least not on the street. In fact traction on the street is looking like it’s going to be a big problem, unless I detune the controller (which is probably a good idea anyway).
• Gearing. Unlike a real supercar, I won’t have a transmission, at least not at first. So, my motor’s torque won’t benefit from multiplication before it reaches the differential. This is probably the most important of all these points.
• Weight. The Veyron is a 2-ton car. Mine will be a little more. The Veyron has a carbon fiber body, with some aluminum thrown in for garnish. Mine … steel, and lots and lots of lead.
• Handling. While the center/rear weight distribution of the truck should provide the ability to drift (which would be pretty surreal in a pickup truck), handling will most certainly feel like a garage-built vehicle, not one designed by the world’s top automotive engineers.
• Aero drag. I’m building a pickup truck. Nuff said.
• Top speed. Well, no I was wrong; this is the most important point. By not having a transmission, I’m limited to the RPM range of the motor, which means that with race gearing installed in the rear end, I’ll be limited to around 110mph or so.

Still, there’s something compelling about torque — it’s the force that pushes your car off the line, and also the force that cracks axles and strips gear teeth. Truly it’s more of a curse than a bragging point in electric motorsport, since the enormous torque we have to deal with means parts must be much stronger (i.e. heavier) than for a gas-powered car of similar power. But there’s a silver lining; the ability to achieve that torque straight from zero RPM, and maintain that peak torque flat out to your battery current limit and/or motor voltage limit, means that e.g. a 400HP electric will be more than a match for a 400HP gas-powered car.