Pretty cool stuff here

 

awd bus :eek3:

 

Not really, I'm happy with my 15 mpg

 

and i thought my 20 was bad


better than the stangs 12 h:

 

i dont understand how it works :thinking:

 

It's fun knowing I have to fill my whole tank after 180 miles.

 

There's a diesel engine acting as a generator to charge the batteries that power the electric motors built into the wheels. It's called a series hybrid. The engine is designed to operate at a constant speed and is more efficient and cleaner than an engine designed to operate in a wider rpm range.

 

their site seems to lack actual numbers/figures from tests :thinking:

 

"Even the transmission is unnecessary; if you want to go faster you just run more electricity through the engine"

isn't there something wrong with that? how fast can it "actually" go then, and if the motors are the wheels, wouldn't the vibrations screw the electrical engine up?

 

Actually to go 60 mph on 20" wheels only requires the motor to spin at 1000 RPM or so, easily doable by most electric motors. Torque can be controlled by changing the distance between the rotor and stator. Vibrations aren't usually an issue because there are no contact points between the rotor and stator. The biggest issue is usually the huge unsprung weight the motor adds the the suspension, so handling is definitely compromised and the suspension needs to be beefier...but its a bus