Bugatti is getting charged up over electric propulsion but would it ever put its prototype battery drive system in a production car like the Veyron, now the world's fastest supercar?

Even high-performance automakers are getting charged up about electric propulsion, it seems, drawn to the technology’s potential performance even more than its environmentally-friendly aspects.

With Mercedes-Benz already developing a battery-based version of its SLS sports car, it was only a matter of time until Bugatti would weigh in.  Already boasting the world’s fastest production car, the Volkswagen AG division is working up its own electric supercar, though it’s unclear if it will ever make it to market.

Reportedly using a Continental chassis borrowed from sibling VW subsidiary Bentley, the prototype Bugatti electric reportedly makes an impressive 800 horsepower.  But that not the truly mind-blowing number.

One of the key advantages of electric propulsion is torque – and especially the fact that it comes on strong the moment the motor starts turning.  So Bugatti’s as yet-unnamed electric reportedly makes a massive 2,200 pound-feet of torque – which hits peak at 0+ RPMs. In other words, maximum torque the instant the car starts moving.

“Absolutely amazing,” a Bugatti driver told Britain’s Auto Express about the vehicle’s acceleration.

Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti built a handful of battery cars, dubbed the Type 56.

Unfortunately, there is a serious downside to battery power: by weight, batteries hold barely 1% of the energy contained in gasoline.  So, if one were to drive the Bugatti electric for maximum performance it reportedly uses up its charge in a matter of minutes, even using the latest lithium-ion battery technology.

Tesla’s lightweight Roadster, which develops significantly less power, claims to get more than 200 miles per charge.  But that’s driving mostly at highway speeds, without serious acceleration.  Drive it as it’s meant to be driven and the two-seater reportedly struggles to reach 100 miles.

Mercedes insiders say they face a similar challenge in developing the SLS Electric, though the project is moving ahead and a running prototype will be demonstrated mid-year in a series of media background sessions.

Bugatti, however, has not confirmed whether it will put the electric into production.

If it does, it actually would be the second battery car to bear the brand’s distinctive badge. The company’s founder Ettore Bugatti built one, initially for himself. But when several customers demanded he put it into production he turned out a few copies, dubbed the Type 56.  The maker’s current CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen, drove it on stage during a presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show, last September.

Virtually every luxury and high-performance manufacturer is toying with electric propulsion, including Audi, which showed off its own 2-seater at the Frankfurt show.  Some makers are considering alternatives that might not leave a heavy-footed driver stuck at the side of the road, however.  Cadillac’s Converj prototype used the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the Chevrolet Volt.  The downside is that it delivered only marginal acceleration.  General Motors officials recently decided to abandon the Converj but could look at an alternative with more of an emphasis on performance.