Tesla Model 3 [image credit: Vauxford @ Wikipedia]
Of course he could have removed the heavy battery pack altogether and replaced it with an equivalent car engine, in theory at least. But he didn’t, so on with the report…
An engineer from Austria has recreated an even cheaper Model 3 by converting Tesla’s flagship electric vehicle into a hybrid by adding a two-cylinder gasoline engine and “downgrading” the battery pack, reports OilPrice.com.
Frank Obrist from Lustenau, Austria, founder of engineering company OBRIST Powertrain, wants to make EVs more affordable.
OBRIST Powertrain claims that the hybrid Tesla would have twice the range compared to the fully electric vehicle as designed and manufactured by Tesla.
Obrist says that the Tesla Model 3 converted into a plug-in hybrid could have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and it will be lighter than the original Model 3.
With the small efficient gasoline engine and the smaller and cheaper lithium-ion battery, the ‘hybrid Tesla Model 3’ would be half the price compared to the original Model 3, according to the Austrian engineer, who says that he wants more people to be able to afford some sort of cleaner cars.
Obrist has been working on his hyperhybrid concept for more than seven years, according to Edison Media magazine.
While the hybrid concept could make a Tesla cheaper, it kind of defeats the purpose of Tesla’s fully electric vehicles designed to help fight rising global emissions.
Tesla, for its part, has been beating production and delivery records in recent months, despite the initial hiccups and “production hell” in 2018 when Model 3 was being rolled out.
Full report here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
January 7, 2020 at 07:30AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 