Sounds like a high-tech car of the future, right?

Actually, it's a former gas-burning 1988 Toyota Corolla station wagon converted into an electric-powered car by a group of Seabury Hall seniors.

The students worked about seven months to give the old car a environmentally friendly retrofit, using 12 batteries to power the motor and a 13th to run accessories including headlights and a radio. It has a range of about 20 miles on a full charge.

As long as the batteries are recharged regularly, the vehicle should continue running for as long as 10 years before any batteries have to be replaced, said Seabury Hall teacher Martin Emde, one of the project's advisers.

Although the car has only been driven around the Upcountry campus because it still needs to pass a county safety check, it is expected to reach 60 to 70 mph on a flat highway, Emde said.

"It should be able to keep up with traffic," he said. "Its speed and handling are like a normal car."

Emde and teaching colleague Gilson Killhour hatched the idea to pursue grant money for the electric car project for a class they called "Engineering Concepts and Design."

"The final product is much more than I expected. I couldn't be happier," Emde said.

Killhour and Emde were awarded a $10,000 grant in the 2006 Toyota TAPESTRY program, which is aimed at encouraging students' studies in science and engineering.

The electric car project was one of 50 grants handed out nationally by Toyota Motor Sales USA and administered by the National Science Teachers Association.

Seabury Hall seniors started the project in September, reporting their progress on a student-produced Web site dedicated to the electric car's development. None of the students had ever been involved in auto mechanics, but all of them eagerly took on the challenge.

"We all had a hand in this. A lot of people did different things," explained Andrew Kloppel, the project co-manager who also helped with welding, motor installation and procurement.

Other student team members and their contributions were:

— Tiana Barbier, electrical system schematic development and wiring.

— Korena Burgio, project co-manager and brakes.

— Ryan Furtado, dashboard instrumentation, electrical and motor installations.

— Nathan Hara, electrical system schematic development and wiring.

— Adam Istvan, battery boxes and financial manager.

— Brian Park, battery boxes and painting.

— Aimi Watanabe, electrical system installation, suspension, painting and community outreach.

— JJ West, Web site development, procurement, suspension and brakes.

Aside from the Toyota TAPESTRY program, Seabury received technical and financial support from Servco Pacific, the International House of Pancakes, NAPA and Young Brothers Ltd.

The Seabury Hall students offered rides on the campus in their modified vehicle earlier this month. The car had been stripped of its engine, back seats and silver paint, and converted into a vehicle that purrs like a golf cart and stands out on the street in its bright yellow-and-black paint job.

"It causes attention," said Watanabe, who came up with the vehicle's color palette. "That's what we want. We want it to get attention."

It's not just the automobile's looks that the students hope will draw interest.

"It saves a lot of gas, and it's environmentally friendly," Park said. "We're hoping it'll bring a lot of attention to our dependence on oil and how we can use electric cars."

Accustomed to lots of grease-free bookwork, the seniors said they got their hands dirty with the project, learning the ins and outs of auto technology to produce one they would be proud of building.

"It feels like a normal car," Kloppel said.

"Just the idea of driving it is amazing," Barbier said. "It sounds like a ghost."

"It was a really cool experience," Furtado said of building the vehicle.

The project has been especially helpful to the seniors interested in pursuing an engineering career because it exercised their math and science skills.

Other valuable lessons involved teamwork, learning what's needed to get community support and what the students themselves can achieve with hard work.

"I think we're capable of a lot more than we think," Barbier said.

The electric car made its public debut during Seabury Hall's annual Craft Fair on May 12. It took third place in the "people's choice" category in the fair's auto show. Students plan to show off the car at other venues.

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On the Web

Information about the project is at the students' Web site, www.seaburyengineering.com.

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