The first modern EV was… A CORVAIR?

Most industry experts cite GM's EV1 as the first EV of contemporary times. But the EV1 had a pioneering forerunner from decades prior.

The production EV1 by General Motors in the 1990's gets some credit for being, technology-wise, one of the first viable EVs. The limitation was its heavy lead-acid battery storage and short range. Less known is the fact that in 1963, a full quarter century earlier, GM was working on its first EV that pioneered a state-of-the-art propulsion system that is still the basis for all EVs today.