At the Laughlin International Rally last year, I was trying to win the CRS championship in a 2005 Subaru STi. All I needed to do was to stay ahead of one lousy car. No problem, right? Boy, was I wrong.

I started getting lightheaded and queasy at the end of the first stage. By the time I started braking for no reason and hallucinating, I knew something was wrong. When I came into service, we figured from the smell of things that I had a pretty bad case of C02 poisoning from an exhaust leak.

After Laughlin, I went to the San Diego Auto Show where I checked out a green car display. I felt I had to look to make up for my polluting ways, the specter of my C02 poisoning lingering in my mind like the ghost of Jacob Marley.

Nestled in the back of the exhibit, behind the ancient biodiesel Volkswagens and alien looking solar contraptions, were the most beautiful electric cars that I had ever seen, HST Automotive's Shelby Cobra EVX and their Tjaarda EVX Mustang. Here were two sexy muscle cars that ran on battery packs, emitted nothing and were begging to be raced. I fell in love with the cars and immediately knew how I was going to make up for my gigantic carbon footprint.

Four months later at the Long Beach Grand Prix I found myself strapped into an electric replica 1965 Daytona coupe owned and built by Michael Kaide, the brains behind HST's electric systems and his team SSI Racing. He was riding with me and I was hard pressed to make it through the throng of people ogling at the car. An iconic muscle car moving along at a whisper? It just didn't seem right.

Despite it costing me over $45 to fill my Evo, and the fact that glaciers are melting and rain forests disappearing at an alarming rate, people still dismiss electric cars. As a driver, I see the racing potential of these cars. Each one that I've driven does 0-60 in under 3.2 seconds. You don't have to worry about turbo lag, being on cam or power band parabolas. They aren't affected by weather or altitude, making them perfect for extreme races like Pikes Peak. Charging batteries isn't a problem; HST can "gas" up their cars by transferring a charge from one battery pack to another in about five minutes. Under heavy driving, the charge is good for up to 120 miles.

Don't take my word for it. Carroll Shelby gave his stamp of approval on HST's 427 continuation series Cobra and Tom Tjaarda, the designer of the De Tomaso Pantera and the Ferrari 365 GT Spider, designed the Mustang. And just last week, I sat in the driver's seat of the Cobra, staring longingly at Shelby's autograph on the dash of the 427 as I began one of the craziest days of my life.

I got a call from my rally buddy Tanner Foust about the show he hosts for SpeedTV, "SuperCars Exposed". He asked me if I would be interested in hosting a segment in which they were profiling HST's electric cars. My jaw dropped. Not only was this an amazing opportunity, but I could finally make amends for my evil ways and show the world that green is sexy by driving the crap out of a $125,000 Cobra.

And hard I drove it! After the interviews, I took an unsuspecting cameraman out to a grassy area where he wanted to shoot. As the wheels hit the grass, Dr. Jekyll became Mr. Hyde and I gave the Cobra a boot-full as we drifted through the grass. That's just the rally driver in me.

And then there were the stealth doughnuts. This car could quite possibly be the ultimate underground touge machine - silent and deadly. When the smoke cleared, I just couldn't believe that this was all happening. I smiled. The car, the cameras, the torque and power - it was intoxicating!

Luckily, Tanner was able to make it out for our final canyon test. I bowed out and gave my seat up for the master and rode along. We had fun in the Cobra, and I cornered the pro for his thoughts on electric cars. Like me, he loved the acceleration and the power, but I don't think either one of us was quite ready to give up our rumbling gas guzzlers.

But then again, there's nothing like knowing your electric Cobra could out-accelerate a Ferrari, and the only thing you'd hear were its tires squealing.

Lisa is a girl who loves to drive. She's also won the Western States Rally Championship for Open 2WD cars in 2005 and was the first woman to win a national, professional level rally since the sport began in 1972 in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5. Learn more at:

www.rallystar.com
www.driftpirate.com
www.sidewaysrules.com
www.myspace.com/driftpiratequeen