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See a 1984 Pontiac Fiero homebuilt electric race car get to 155 mph

The gearhead delight from this weekend's Texas Mile event culminated with the 257.7-mph standing mile run of a Hennessey-tuned twin-turbo Ford GT. It looks pretty boss, but for sheer bravery it can't top the run John Metric made that was 102 mph slower -- in his 1984 Pontiac Fiero converted at home into an electric drag racer.

Built over a span of three years for electric drag racing, Metric's DC Plasma Fiero contains a mass of old Detroit engineering and enough shade-tree mechanical work to impress a wizard. In place of the Fiero's ancient GM Iron Duke four-cylinder, Metric has installed 175 lbs. of lithium-ion batteries good for 862 hp, hitting the road through two DC motors, a two-speed transmission and an independent rear axle from a Lincoln Mark VIII.

At the drag strip, the DC Plasma could snap off 60 mph in 2.3 seconds, but Metric says the run at the Texas Mile was the first time he'd attempted to take the car at full blast for a mile. Since there's no active battery cooling, Metric set the batteries to half-power for his run, the first by any electric car at the event. Not to take anything away from the fire-breathing Ford GTs of the world, but they were built for speed from the factory. Metric's DC Plasma shows even an ancient GM product can perform miracles in the right hands.