Gas Electric Hybrid Car

by Paul
(Vancouver)

Has anyone been successful converting an all-wheel drive vehicle (like an Audi) to a plug-in hybrid?

My ideal end product would be an Audi Quattro that ran electric rear wheel in the city and then gave me the option to use the front wheel connected gas engine if I need to go skiing, highway, long distance etc.

EV mode should have 80mph top speed and at least 50 mile range in normal driving city driving conditions. Transitioning into gas engine isn't that important so I don't think that hybrid style rollover is necessary. Perhaps its easier just to manually start the gas engine with the EV mode is depleted?

Hi, Paul -
You're not talking about a plug-in hybrid, although you are describing a hybrid that you can plug in; ) Confused yet?

You're describing a parallel hybrid, one that has the option of running entirely on batteries, or running on gasoline. Either motor would move the wheels. The "fake hybrids" that make up most of the US hybrid market today are parallel hybrids, and they're fake because they don't give you the choice of switching to EV mode. They're just gas-guzzlers with a big battery; )

Not yours, though! You'll be able to choose which mode you want to use with a flip of the switch.

This is being done, although there aren't a lot of them. It's unfortunate, because it's a really, really good idea! Here's a gas/electric hybrid car, a Porsche 944, that is actually a high-voltage electric car most of the time...

...but has a gas-guzzling alter ego in the form of a trailer. Most of the time, the car is just an electric car with plenty of performance, but when more range is needed, you can just hook a trailer on the back and go.

Good luck, Paul!

Regards,
Lynne