A sports EV, what would you want

[Gary C]

EV's are comming so what would an enthusiast want from a sporty EV

In idle moments I have been thinking of what I would want from the driving experience and gears and noise are something I would find hard to lose.

While gears have limited use in most EV's what about this

A 100kW motor that in normal mode would sit in a single 'gear' and provide you with all you need, but then engage sport mode and overdrive the motor to say 200kW with forced air cooling. Engage a clutch to pull in a fan driven off the motor shaft, forcing cooling air through the motor to allow it to be overdriven.
As the cooling effect would depend on motor speed, current would be limited until the fan provided enough airflow for the full load, giving a torque curve increasing as revs rise, meaning a gearbox could be used.

You could end up with a car, that needs say a 4 or 5 speed box and makes a sound as the motor revs increase, but also has 'some' claim that it is for engineering reasons rather than just totally artificial. This, in my eyes would give a much more 'exciting' and 'involving' drive in sports mode.

Any other ideas ?

Yes, I know this is forcing an EV to emulate a dinosaur , but it would be more fun than just the hyperspeed of the current EV sports.

[Gary C]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Where's your soul !

Dont you think people would just find a pure artificial reason a bit naff, but if it had at lease 'some' actual reason in engineering (tenuous though it might be).

Certainly, why bother in day to day cars, but at some point, we are going to get the affordable sports EV's for enthusiasts and I am idly thinking about what they will be like.

The other option would be to use motors that dont have a simple torque map. Certainly some induction motors have a more complex curve (but still very wide so probably not)

Think fun but with some engineering basis rather than 'just' emulating it. Or do we thing the next generation will just drive to get places.

[DaveTheRave87]

This'll do.

[TeaNoSugar]

Gary C said:

....Or do we thing the next generation will just drive to get places.

In my experience most already do, and reluctantly, as cars are a very expensive thing to own and run. The next generation will probably use public transport more than cars. Work vans will be around for a long time though as there’s little alternative if you’re working 200-300 miles from your base and you need to lug a van load of kit around.

What has surprised me, is that even working in engineering (where nearly all our site staff are youngish blokes who you’d think would be prime car-enthusiast demographic), I’d say for the past 18 months almost everyone we’ve employed under the age of about 25 has not had a driving license. It’s a nightmare for us as it puts a huge burden on the older lads who do all the driving, whilst the young lads (very reluctantly in most cases) get their lessons and test done. A few of the lads have failed 2 or 3 tests now and we had to let one lad go because he just didn’t want to drive and didn’t see the point. He couldn’t get into his head that the sort of work we do means he would have to learn to drive.

[Gary C]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I would argue for me, that more 'fun' makes it a better car, but I know what you mean.

I love the electronic choke simulation

My first car had a manual choke, and an inertia engagement starter (for those that are to young, it basically meant, if the engine fired at all, the starter would disengage, then the engine would immediately die and you had to try it again, and again, and again)

Bring it back I say

[Mikehig]

Many modern cars already have multiple "modes" plus the option of setting numerous parameters manually: steering; ride; throttle response; etc.
As said earlier, it must be possible to use software to configure an EV to emulate any type of ICE car. It would be like crossing a driving simulator with an EV.
For example, it could have a "gearbox" complete with with paddle-shift, or even a lever and clutch for the diehards. The motor and throttle would respond like the chosen ICE to whichever gear is selected.
The suspension could emulate the behaviour of the ICE as well, together with steering, brakes, etc.

So, when in the mood, you could "configure" your EV to drive like, say, Steve McQueen's Mustang - complete with synthesised sound, of course.
Or you could learn all about lift-off oversteer ( and your local hedges) with a Peugeot 205 GTI configuration.
Of course it would revert to the plain-vanilla EV at the press of a button - or swipe of the screen.

The possibilities would be endless.

[MagicalTrevor]

Electric Sportscar. Basically update the original Tesla roadster.

Elise chassis but use modern batteries. Let's take the drivetrain from the I3S (182bhp) but add an over-boost feature (push to pass) that gives you a 200bhp boost.
i3 is, what, 1300kg? I'm sure we can get that down to 1000-1100kg with a 1/3 knocked off the battery size and fewer creature comforts. Could we use some of the BMW carbon fibre tech to make the Elise chassis lighter?

Let's make the battery pack modular so you can go to a track day, leave half the pack charging and be on track with the other half (forget the logistics for now). A full battery pack lasts 180miles on the i3 but we've already taken 1/3 off so we're down to 120 miles. Track spec is then 60 miles or range. Castle Combe is 1.8m so that's a theoretical 33 laps. 10 laps when driven hard? 80s per lap means you're out for 13mins. That's enough for a session.

Ultimately we end up with an EV sportscar that handles 'similar' to an Elise, a bit heavier but more powerful to compensate.

[Gary C]

Interesting idea to emulate everything. I can see that having some sort of legs. A 205GTi emulation complete with lift off oversteer

A whole new market.

[SWoll]

Be interested to see how they can manage to change a cars wheelbase, total weight, weight distribution, centre of gravity and suspension geometry at the touch of a button...

And are we talking a 1.6 or 1.9 205 GTI? I was always fonder of the 1.6 personally.

[hyphen]

Gary C said:

EV's are comming so what would an enthusiast want from a sporty EV

Space at the front, the right size to drop in an AMG engine

[SWoll]

hyphen said:

Gary C said:

EV's are comming so what would an enthusiast want from a sporty EV

Space at the front, the right size to drop in an AMG engine

The 6.2 V8 though? I've lost interest since they've downsized and gone forced induction.

[mgv8]

Just been in an electric classic mini and wow its was fast. Only at 80% due to testing so speed will not be a problem. There was a good sound as food was planted. Fun to drive and fast, so use a sports EV can work but will need to watch the MPVolt when flat out.

[Munter]

DaveTheRave87 said:

This'll do.

That. But a tenth the price.

[Mikehig]

SWoll said:

Be interested to see how they can manage to change a cars wheelbase, total weight, weight distribution, centre of gravity and suspension geometry at the touch of a button...

And are we talking a 1.6 or 1.9 205 GTI? I was always fonder of the 1.6 personally.

Obviously it would only ever be a fun function and, yes, some parameters are fixed. That said, rear-wheel steer is supposed to have the effect of changing the apparent wheelbase.
The 1.9 was reportedly more prone to switching ends, presumably because of the heavier lump in the nose. Tried a 1.6 but went for a Golf GTI instead: the Captain Sensible option which would cock an inside rear wheel but nothing more ( in my inexpert hands, at least).

[jonny142]

DaveTheRave87 said:

This'll do.

That would make a great support series to Formula E