How difficult would it be to convert an original Toyota MR2 to electric power?

The G-Wiz seems to be the closest modern equivalent, the question is whether the safety is considered appropriate (see the death of Judit Nadal).

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Andy Millar CEng MIET MCMI

http://www.linkedin.com/in/millarandy

The nearest thing currently planned/available is the electric Smart. It will cost rather more than Alan's target, but also has all the currently required safety features like airbags and ESP and generally good crash test results.

http://uk.smart.com/

A relatively mild collision in an Isetta or Heinkel would be goodbye lower legs and feet. There was only a thin aluminum door between you and what you hit.

An alternative without the safety bits is the Twike

http://www.twike.com/en/home/home.html

There are a few in regular use around here, but I think I would rather have the full protection or be able to 'abandon ship' like you can on a bike if things are getting difficult.

Best regards

Roger

Our local post office has recently got one of the fleet of Oxygen electric scooters:

http://www.oxygenworld.it/content/models

It seems to go pretty well even with a trailer, but is very (almost too) quiet.

Best regards

Roger

The economics of these small electric cars is always a little dubious to me with the current price premiums.
If I drive my old petrol Smart 60 miles a day (typical small EV range) the fuel cost in the UK would be around £5. If I do this 300 days out of 365 (daily commute and shopping some weekends) the annual fuel cost would be £1500.
Current internet information suggests that the price of a basic electric Smart is ~6000 Euros more than a basic petrol version. There is also a lease charge for the battery. 6000 Euros is currently around £5000 so if electricity was free the payback period would be more than 3 years. If I pay for the electricity and the battery leasing there is probably no payback.
18000 miles a year is quite high for a city car. If you look at a more typical mileage, <10000 miles per year, the situation looks even less favorable.
The only ways this would make sense is if the government (taxpayer) pays the £5000 supplement or in London where you don't have to pay the (£10 per day?) congestion charge.

Best regards

Roger

Maybe an electric version of the re released Peel P50 :-)

http://www.bluewin.ch/de/index...ildergalerie?id=32949

Best regards

Roger

Electric cars has changed the perspective of all car enthusiast since it was released in t he market.Green cars are very popular, including the first generation of electric automobiles. The 3rd EV from a major manufacturer, the Mitsubishi i, has only been accessible for a few months, but is spreading across the United States. Resource for this article: Deliveries of Mitsubishi i expand beyond West Coast

I think some of the members are heading off target, from the original, one could assume they already have the car.
Its reasonably straight forward engineering- but a pain time wise. Ive seen a beatle that was converted by some students here in Canada, also a reverse trike made from scratch.
The problem is the battery capacity, and range.
Secondly do you go AC motor+regening VFD, or DC motor, then individual motors or central.
I would say initially as existing car, go central, unless you want to engineer a virtual diff.
What electrical system are you most comfortable with-AC orDC? admittedly I would go AC, as an squirrel cage induction motor is cheap, readily available, and an inverter wont brake the bank(regen part can be added to some as a retro fit), also near zero maintenance- no brushes.

It appears that most of this thread is missing, the OP and contributions from g3xoi are no longer there.

Best regards

Roger

Hello everyone,
I was wondering how much electricity it takes to charge an electric car. And is it less expensive to recharge the battery as needed than to buy gas?

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Hi
1 litre of petrol will produce about 15 kWh of energy of which at least 5 kWh are lost as heat. You may be able to reclaim a little to heat your car!! So say 14 pence per unit.
Depending on your off peak rate; you may find your EV is cheaper to run and maintain but costs of depreciation and replacement battery a query.
CliveS

Hey Jencam and all, I share the desire to convert to EV! For a car like the MR2, if you did it yourself, it would cost about $10,000 USD in parts alone- well worth zero emissions imho. That includes motor, batteries, boards, wiring,

Not sure who does it for MR2's but check out canev.com they do canadian conversions for some cars, this should help you get an idea.

Also, some food for thought- the future of the battery as we know it is about to change! Graphene is about the revolutionize the industry; imagine charging your iphone from dead to full in 30 seconds, or charging an electric car...like an MR2 conversion with a graphene supercapacitor battery back in about a minute!

The above mentioned technology was actually discovered by mistake, check it out by doing a google search for "Accidental supercapacitor discovery Brian Golden Davis" and enjoy!

Hope this shed some light and helps!