Bangalore: It started out as a whim, but gradually it turned into a serious endeavor and finally an academic project. After beginning to work on it in 2006, the three students of D Y Patil College of Engineering in Pune have finally managed to develop a prototype electric superbike, the T-001X, which is not only fast but also environment friendly. The three mechanical engineering students who have achieved this feat are Ketan Mhasawade, Krunal Nanavati and Kapil Shelke, reports Times of India. However the journey to this success has not been easy. As interested as they were in the idea of a pollution-free superbike, other people were not. "We are petrol-heads but we love the environment too. And being crazy about speed does not mean being irresponsible, so we came up with the idea of building a motorcycle that would be fast and environment friendly," said Mhasawade on the sidelines of the Petronas Asian Road Racing Championship. They started saving pocket money, and got some from their parents to start off with. A superbike is usually envisaged as a smoke-spewing, petrol-guzzling behemoth. The aim was to change this notion. The three mechanical engineering students then designed a chassis and imported the motor, batteries and controllers. "The basic idea was to build a sports motorcycle with minimum cost. We thought of getting things made in India but couldn't find a competitive manufacturer," said Nanavati. It was after they heard of the TTX Grand Prix (TTXGP) that was to be held at the Isle of Man in June this year that the trio decided to convert the bike into a racer. Around 12 countries were participating and they were the only team from Asia. Success came calling again, as they finished third in the Open Class. "That was a boost for us. Before, people would be just curious about the bike and that was it. But now, after the third place finish, we have something solid to fall back on," says Mhasawade. The electric superbike with a top speed of 150 km can also be used as a normal city bike. The battery takes two hours to recharge and lasts for 65 km in racing mode (speeds upto 150 km/hr) or 90 km to 100 km in economical mode (100-120 km/hr). "The USP of the bike is its speed and environmental consciousness," explains Shelke. "Right now, the bike costs 12 lakh, but that's only because it is a prototype. Once it starts getting built on a large scale the price will automatically come down."