"We're measuring the zero-to-60 speed but also the gas mileage, " says Lankford.

FORBES: Entrepreneurs

Since congressional Republicans promised to zero out federal funding for high-speed rail, analysts noted, the state wouldn't have enough money to electrify the tracks, let alone build out.

WSJ: Allysia Finley: How Insider Politics Saved California's Train to Nowhere

Ford, Renault-Nissan and Daimler have agreed to jointly develop a fuel cell system to try to speed up the availability of zero-emission vehicles.

BBC: Nissan FCEV on display at a car show in Brussels in January

Not in terms of top speed (the Lamborghini is faster) or zero-to-60-mph times (the Lamborghini is still a tad faster), but in terms of everyday driving, where it really matters.

FORBES: Vehicles Feature

And if air travel is more your speed, why not take to the skies aboard this zero-emission Elektra airplane, which spends its downtime soaking up the suns rays in a solar hangar.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: electric cars, solar planes, and really sweet lights

All told, the Esprit will deliver 620 horsepower, Lotus claims, getting it from zero to 60 in barely 3.5 seconds and boosting the 2-seater to a 205 mph top speed.

MSN: Lotus steers toward mainstream market

In addition, camera designers can take advantage of this speed to enable the capture of 6-megapixel still images without interrupting the video stream and with zero shutter lag.

ENGADGET: Aptina intros 8MP sensors that bring 60 fps, pro-grade video to phones, action cameras