I can build this in my garage using basic tools like a table saw and handheld grinder, then why aren’t the Big Three building electric cars?” While Fortin’s latest creation, the ZKart, isn’t street legal and wouldn’t never make it at a Chevy or Ford dealership, it does look like a total blast to drive.

“I also wanted to show people that small electric-powered vehicles can be fast and fun,” he said. “All we know are golf carts and scooters.”

When Fortin first started building EVs, his son was into RC cars. The pair worked on a kart as a father-son project, and the end result turned out more like a life-size RC car than a souped-up golf cart.

A 2008 post on AutoblogGreen and a YouTube video later, Fortin’s first EV got the attention of 1,200 folks requesting a set of plans to build their own plug-in runabout. Still, Fortin didn’t feel it was safe enough for the general public. He’d experienced a failure with the bicycle wheels he’d used, and the kart didn’t handle as well as he liked.

“I felt it was unsafe because I used bicycle tires, so I took it apart and built this one,” he said of the latest iteration.

According to Fortin, the end result was “built from what’s in my head, not from plans.” With parts costing less than $5,000, 72 volts worth of AGM batteries and a suspension design featuring shocks in the rear and a lawn-tractoresque rocking front axle, the ZKart was born.

“It took me about a year only because I put a lot of thought into it and I kept changing things, plus I made 90 percent of the parts from scratch: trailing arms, front end, wheel hubs, motor mounts, shock towers, steering column and all the body panels,” he said.

Body panels are made of polyethylene and are almost as light as carbon fiber. They’re as easily recycled as a plastic soda bottle. The new vehicle offers numerous improvements over the 2008 model.

“It handles great, corners great and has a tight turning radius,” Fortin said. Top speed is 40 mph. Due to the limited range and suspension, the ZKart has stayed mostly on pavement. However, he said that a few jaunts on fire roads have been a gas, and without using a drop of the stuff.

Photo: George Fortin, whose garage looks cleaner than any of our kitchens.

Videos: George Fortin. Obviously, we’d like to note that it’s always a good idea to wear a helmet and avoid driving non-street-legal cars on public roads — especially if you’re going to record the act.

Authors: Keith Barry

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