Electric Sports Car: Before Tesla, there was Porsche!
A girl can hardly say "electric sports car" without the Tesla Roadster popping up in her thought balloon. But the best sports car in the world has already been made, sorry, by Porsche - the 911. So, since you can't improve on perfection, why not electrify it?
Interview with Paul Liddle of "CoolGreenCar.Net"
Me: You convert a variety of cars to electric, don't you? I see a bunch of high-end performance vehicles on the CoolGreenCar website, and then a couple of serious exotics, but also bus conversions and EMIS hybrids, too. What was your first conversion, and when? Paul: 8 years ago, a 911 with my 959 conversion body. I have been dealing with Porsches and driving daily since 1986. For those who don't speak Porsche: The 959 was a supercar that Porsche built on the framework of the 911. Sort of a limited edition car; Jay Leno might have one, but they're quite rare. For those of us who are not lucky enough to own one of these amazing Porsche supercars, there's a body kit you can buy that will turn a 911 - there are plenty of those around! - into a 959.
Me: What was the most exotic car you've ever converted to electric? Paul: The Diablo. Me:On your EV Photo Album pages, a couple of your cars are attributed to World Class Exotics. Who are they? Paul:That's me. I own several sites, and CoolGreenCar is the most updated.
The cars
Me: I found your cars on the EV Photo Album, and wanted to ask you a few things about them.
Paul: Okay. Me: First, it seems like those electric sports car conversions, the Porsches, could be termed "performance cars" based on your choice of components. Did you initially build your electric sports cars to race? Paul: I've raced at several tracks. The cars I convert can be made as race cars or daily drivers. Batteries: Do you want lead or lithium with that?
Me: Those 12v batteries, I can't help thinking this is a drag racers choice, not a daily driver looking for range. How do you get 100 miles out of them? Admirable restraint? Paul: The lead acids go more like 50 miles in a Porsche. Me: So why does it say "100 mile range" on your website? Paul: 100 miles is with a 32 kwh pack of lithium iron phosphate. Me: I thought you were using Li-Po. Paul: We are using LiFeP04 now. We built the first lithium Porsche with the Li-Po, but since then changed over. Electric Car Motors: Two motor conversions, in-wheel motors, and direct drive
Me: I see that you're offering two-motor conversions. Interesting! A lot of people have been asking me about that. How are they controlled?
Paul: Either with a Zilla, or 2 controllers with 2 pots for 2 motors. Me: The 911 you converted that's called the Blue One? That's got a Kostov 11" motor. Compared to the Warfield/NetGain motors you've installed more recently, how do you like it? Is it still performing well? Paul: That car is sold, but generally there are not any problems with any of the motors, they just go and don't need servicing for a very long time. Me: You've kept the Porsche drive train in most of those conversions. How is it holding up? I suppose the Porsche drive train might be more tolerant of the combination of DC series wound motor, plenty of amps, and lead feet than some cars' drive trains. Me: It had better be, huh? Paul: I haven't had any failures as of yet. Me: Do you do any direct-drive conversions, or keep the existing transmission, or what? Another question I get a lot is about in-wheel motors. Paul: We mostly use Porsche transaxles but have done direct drive several times. In wheel motors are awesome, just expensive; $20k each. Me: Ouch. Do you do any AC conversions for electric sports cars? Paul: We are going to be trying 3 manufacturers. About that Lamborghini Diablo?
Me: Did you go with direct drive on this one? There isn't any drive train info on the EV Photo Album page.
Paul: No. That's because I lost my hard drive after the Diablo. I've got other pictures of the car, but none of the motor mounted. We customized the interior to have a custom third seat in the middle when we got rid of the gas tank from the middle, and then used that area to strengthen the chassis. Hybrids
Me: I see you've got a few different ways to go hybrid, including a range-extender trailer and the EMIS conversion. Are you doing a lot of these?
Paul: Not too many. We like doing straight EVs the best. Me: I'm particularly interested in RV hybrid conversions. Have you done any EMIS conversions on RVs? Paul: No, we would use a larger Azure Dynamics system for a big vehicle like that. Me: I see. And what about boat conversions? Are you doing yacht conversions and bigger boat conversions (bigger than a lil fishin dinghy, I mean; )?
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
Go from Electric Sports Car to Fisker Karma Hybrid
|
