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Author: Subject: Perhaps the end of kit car making as we know it?
David H

posted on 20/1/22 at 05:29 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by perksy
I seem to remember a single seater hillclimb car being designed with an electric motor driving each wheel
Not sure it ever got built though..


On the topic of hill climbs, Pike’s Peak at >14,000 feet is the ultimate test. An electric car took the record in 2018 and will continue to do so. Electric cars aren’t gasping for air at that altitude.

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tomprescott

posted on 20/1/22 at 08:22 AM Reply With Quote
My two penneth: The speed of electric sports cars will be nuts but the lack of sound will mean fewer people think it's worth it to have the compromise of a small sports car. Given the electric motors can shift chunky cars relatively quickly (like Dave's Niro) I expect the future will be sport versions of 'compact SUVs'.

Regarding costs coming down for kit car builders in the future... Possibly. However, the biggest car seller in Europe (VW) have announced they are no longer planning on making cars to be sold to people for personal ownership, only making cars that people can rent/ pay as they use. If others follow suit then the chance to pick up cheap second hand cars might just disappear entirely!





A bird in the hand....

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Sam_68

posted on 20/1/22 at 12:28 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by David H
quote:
Originally posted by perksy
I seem to remember a single seater hillclimb car being designed with an electric motor driving each wheel
Not sure it ever got built though..


On the topic of hill climbs, Pike’s Peak at >14,000 feet is the ultimate test. An electric car took the record in 2018 and will continue to do so. Electric cars aren’t gasping for air at that altitude.

The electric single-seater hillclimb car Perksy was thinking of was probably Martin Ogilvie's (ex-Lotus F1 Chief Designer, and responsible for the PCD Saxon and Graeme Wight's Raptor and Predator hillclimb single-seaters). It was never built, due to lack of funding, but was well ahead of its time - I've got some of the CAD drawings on my computer.

Never mind Pikes Peak; on the shorter UK hillclimb courses, electric now makes a lot of sense... you don't need big batteries for a 60-second run, so the combined weight of batteries, motor (much lighter than ICE) and transmission (again, much less than ICE) means that overall weight is perfectly competitive - potentially even lighter than an ICE car - you can achieve a lower centre of gravity, and you have the massive advantage (for hillclimbing) of instant torque, everywhere.

The Luddites might bemoan the lack of noise and the smell of polluting hydrocarbons (whilst the rest of society will be glad to be rid of both), but if you actually want to go faster up a hillclimb course, electric offers a whole new world of opportunities.

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CosKev3

posted on 23/1/22 at 01:28 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Search YouTube or Google for the megawatt.

Drag car thats battery powered,stupidly fast, but a range of just over 20miles iirc


Have you seen how much nitro-methane a top-fuel dragster uses on a quarter-mile run?!


The mileage I quoted is driving it normally to the drag strip!

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