A man from Mansfield has unveiled a project he has been working nearly his entire life - creating a totally electric car. 

Daren Luedtke says his new transmission system will do just that.  Luedtke moved to Mansfield five years ago from Wisconsin, but he brought along his idea to produce the missing link in electric car technology.

Luedtke's prototype looks like a Dodge Caravan mini-van, but it sounds like a golf cart.

That's because its engine was replaced with a drive system created by Luedtke, who perfected two different types of transmissions from those of other companies.

The electro-magnetic transmission powers the van and a variable speed belt-driven transmission are both inside. Combined, the two systems make a totally electric van that runs on lead acid batteries, which can fuel the van for 150 miles before needing to be recharged.

"All you do is turn the key on, and you start the electric motor with this throttle and then if I were to step on the gas pedal it engages the electromagnetic transmission and I start moving forward," Luedtke said as he demonstrated the van today for a group of area residents.

Luedtke says if lithium-ion batteries are used, the van would go 500 miles before needing to be recharged.  He showed off his invention, along with a totally electric converted Yamaha motorcycle, at the Ozark International Raceway today.

Among the audience were local residents who are investing in Luedtke's company, or considering it.  The company, LEI Global, has nine patents pending.

Luedtke says the company wants to take this idea to a manufacturer like Chrysler, to mass produce the cars.  But the inventor says these drive systems can run anything from mo-peds to trains.  Luedtke says he is now working on putting his drive system in a semi-truck.