If you wanted to beat the world record for distance traveled in a single charge in a battery electric car, what platform would you choose for that car?

When Evonyx, a company that has been improving zinc-air battery technology, wanted to prove the potential of this technology, they decided to put together an electric car powered by their new batteries. Perhaps not surprisingly, they chose the Honda Insight as the platform for this car.

While zinc-air battery technology has traditionally had problems that has limited it use for battery-electric cars, it also holds much promise, due to its high energy density and use of cheap and "environmentally benign" materials. Zinc-air batteries produce electricity from a chemical reaction between zinc and oxygen in the air.

Evonyx has been working on overcoming some of the problems of zinc-air battery technology. To prove how far they've come, they set out to set the world record for electric car range, by driving the approximately 600 miles (965 km) from their laboratory north of New York City to Detroit. This would significantly surpass the current record of 373 miles (600 km) held by Solectria Corporation.

In order to achieve this amazing range, they would need to combine their advanced battery technology with a very efficient platform.

The choice of the Insight for this car makes a lot of sense. The Insight's low body weight and very low aerodynamic drag means that significantly less energy is needed to propel it - regardless of where that energy is coming from.

So, earlier this year Evonyx bought two Honda Insights. They then proceeded to remove the Insights; advanced hybrid powertrain and replace them with their own advanced powertrains. Gone from under the hood and below the rear cargo area are the Insight's gas engine, electric motor, control circuitry and nickel metal hydride battery pack. In their place is a larger electric motor, new control circuitry, and zinc-air batteries.

At 6:30am today (October 2nd), the two zinc-air powered Insights were scheduled to set out from Hawthorne, NY. They expect to average 45 mph (72 km/h) on this trip, but will allow the car to slow down on the hills in Pennsylvania. Allowing time for stops, they expect to arrive in Detroit by 2am tonight.

See also: New York Times Article