Turkish electric car with 500km driving range hits roads

A Turkish-made electric car capable of travelling 500 kilometers on only four hours charge went on display in the eastern city of Erzurum today as part of a nationwide tour.

Developed by teachers and students from Istanbul University, the 'T-1' was driven through the city's main thoroughfare in front of curious onlookers.

Tuba Güven, a Master's degree student at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Istanbul University, said that they produced a 100 percent domestic electric car when they participated in a competition run by Turkey's scientific and technological center, TÜBITAK.

She said: "Electric cars from 30 universities participated in the competition. We became the champions and started our Turkey tour."

Güven said that 25 people worked on the project; production lasted 18 months and cost TL 450,000 ($202,000).

The T-1 team has been working on electric cars since 2009. One of their earlier projects came eighth in a global electric car competition held in Australia.

This T-1 electric car started its tour on September 15, going from Istanbul to Ankara using only one battery for the 436 kilometer trip.

Guven said that the cost of travelling the distance between Istanbul and Ankara cost TL 7 ($3). She said: "We want to know whether the car is convenient for any road in Turkey. That is why we went to Samsun and Trabzon after Ankara. We will keep testing T-1 in every region of the country."

Another team member, undergraduate student Serdar Zurnacı, said the T-1 crew drove the car in rainy conditions also with no problems.

T-1 weights 500 kilograms and has top speed of 120 kilometers per hour. It is a four-seater car and has enough space for luggage.