The Tesla Roadster has been the poster-child of the ultimate fast and cool-looking environmentally friendly vehicle (www.dogonews.com/2008/01/29/stylish-fast-and-green-this-car-s-got-it-all). Now it looks like the Ultimate Aero EV will easily usurp it from its pedestal on both grounds.

The car has been conceived and designed by West Richland based Shelby SuperCars, who manufacture the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, which with a fastest speed of 257 mph is officially the fastest car in the world, as verified by the folks at the Guinness Book of Records (see video below).

The Aero EV is simply going to be a greener version of the original. While it will not reach the top speed of the gas-powered car, it will come pretty close, at 208mph.

The car, expected to be in showrooms later this year, is fitted with a twin motor system capable of producing 1000 horse power and go from zero to sixty in an astonishing 2.5 seconds. In contrast, the Tesla has a 250 horse power and takes 3.9 seconds to get to the same speed.

Shelby Motors expects it to the take only 10 minutes to fully charge the car, thanks to an on-board system, known as Charge on the Run, and expect a fully-charged car to cover 150-200 miles, before running out of power.

While the 3-speed automatic transmission car is expected to be available by the end of the year, the company hasn't decided on the price yet. If the price of their Ultimate Aero TT is any indication, we would estimate at least $700,000 USD for the electrical version - definitely not a car for the faint of heart or wallet!

Source: ScienceDaily.com, Telegraph.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk