Having tried myself — and failed miserably — to convert my old Volvo, and noticing how the Duke & Duchess departed Windsor Castle in a Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero last year, this video caught my eye as soon as it left the editing room of the guys at Fully Charged. And maybe you already heard: Bond himself is going EV in the next movie in his iconic series, driving the Aston Martin Rapide E. Oh dear, what has the world come to.
There’s a common stereotype on the internet about EV drivers. Supposedly, we are all “iPhone people” and can’t be “real” auto enthusiasts. But is it true?
An Audi-loving mechanic on the East Coast of the US gutted an Audi S5 and swapped out all of the internal combustion bits for a fully electric drivetrain from a Tesla. The install involved cutting the motor and inverter apart and cramming all 16 Tesla battery modules into the car — 13 of those modules ended up in the rear, with the remaining 3 installed up near the front of the car.
Spoiler: This should have been the joyful story of a successful conversion of an old fossil-fume-farting classic car into a high-tech electric classic car. Instead, it all ended in confusion and disillusion. Still, the plan made sense, and I really hope some of you will comment with your own experiences.
Disclaimer: I’m writing an electric vehicle (EV) conversion book and come from a classic car collector background, where purity, provenance, and historical significance are the prime values. It wasn’t until driving a Tesla Roadster that it became clear to me that the electric motor has more untapped potential and is a lot of fun to drive. That puts my purist nature at odds with my preference for an electric future.
You may, or may not, have heard that for the past 662 days, a Dutch man has been driving across the world in an electric car. He started in the Netherlands, has driven up, down, and around Europe (passing through 20 European countries), journeyed through the Middle East and Asia, and has just made it to Indonesia, so is now not far from his destination of Sydney, Australia.
Hjalte has already seen me coming up the driveway to their house. He opens the door and greets me. I notice the electric Nissan Qashqai jacked up with one rear wheel removed. “What’s wrong with your car?” I ask. “Green won’t charge,” he answers. “Nina thinks it has something to do with the charge port, and I removed the wheel to be able to look behind it.”
In the video above, you can see the Lamborghini Aventador beats the Tesla Model S P85D to 60 miles per hour, but the P85D actually has the lead up to 50 miles per hour, with its insane torque. Enjoy the video and share with any gearhead friends of yours! Tesla … [continued]
Some top EV news from around to keep you busy this weekend: EV Policy Germany may soon offer free EV parking and EV access to “bus-only” lanes. (EV Obsession) Leading Senator Harry Reid is pushing for more EV incentives in the US. (EV Obsession) Here’s a monologue on how big societal … [continued]
