2019 Portland International Auto Show EV Experience
This weekend the 2019 Portland International Auto Show kicks off, with a focus on hot new cars and EV education. The Tech Center at the main entrance will be helmed by OEVA (Oregon Electric Vehicle Association) and feature new EVs from top brands. “Electric Avenue”, on the main floor, will show you important facts on electric transportation, include Q&A sessions, as well as interactive displays, and explain why EV’s are the best they’ve ever been.
As luxury car makers inch their way towards an EV future, many of their concept EVs and hybrids are featured at the auto shows, so expect to find a few in the Luxury Lofts room, located on the second floor. If you want to see a true high performance EV though, you’ll find it in the most unexpected of places. Read on for an update on “White Zombie“, displaying at the 2019 Portland International Auto Show.
White Zombie Returns
*SPOILER ALERT*
If you watched Netflix’s “Fastest Cars” Episode 7, no doubt you were excited to see a well established EV racer compete with its gas guzzling counterparts. That excitement turned to shock and disbelief as White Zombie lost control and crashed into one of its competitors, sidelining both cars and leaving the future of White Zombie in doubt.
White Zombie has a race history spanning decades, so what exactly happened at the track that fateful day? Owner John Wayland explains; “The Zombie has such an immense amount of instantaneous torque, 1250 ft. lbs, the front end lifted and on that irregular, cracked and hardened old airstrip it just pitched the car sideways when it came back down and that was pretty much it”.
Well the future of White Zombie is no longer in doubt. White Zombie has been resurrected yet again! The iconic EV will be featured at the 2019 Portland Auto Show after a four year hiatus. Although the damage to White Zombie was extensive (the car was damaged from front to rear), an intensive month long session with owner John Wayland, Marko Mongillo and Bloodshed Motors, brought the car back to life.
What makes this 1972 Datsun EV so special? For one, it was able to achieve 0-62mph in 1.33 seconds at the drag strip (under typical conditions Zombie has a time of 1.8 sec). Its also street legal with a range of 100mi. By today’s standards those stats are impressive, but White Zombie has always been miles ahead. Come to the Portland Auto Show and check out this piece of history!