Wheeler Dealers Electric Maserati build. Ah Memories

[ehansen007]

Just watched this episode on velocity and loved it. It's been a couple of years now since I built my electric 818 and working with the team at EV West and Zelectricbug was just the best experience. The setup was very similar to what they did to the BiTurbo and brought back a lot of fun memories. That was the best build I've done to date. Anywho, just wanted to share that it's on TV when even they thought it was going air on Jan 9th. Check it out.

[flynntuna]

I recorded it and watched it last night too. It was interesting to see that they can get a 120 mile range with the batterys they used. If that's holds up to real world use then I can see myself jumping in on a build using that technology.

[ehansen007]

Those packs were actually built by Tesla and installed in Smart Cars as part of the Car2Go project in San Diego. Because the project was scrapped, there are a lot of them out there and they are way more efficient than the Calbs I used. I only wished they had these when I was building my car with EV West and not immediately after I finished it. Would have been a lot different and I would probably still own the car.

[GoDadGo]

What gets me is why the Auto Industry won't go down the Diesel/Electric configuration like we use in Naval Vessels and Freight Trains.
It's probably too efficient and the cars would last too long to work with the industries planned obsolesce business model.
It would and save a lot of weight by not having all those batteries sitting under your seats waiting to blow up.

[AZPete]

Did they mention the weight of the completed "bi-motor" Maserati? If so, I missed it. Also, I didn't see any mods to the suspension for different weight distribution, but is that a factor? If the buyer was real, and not a TV setup, did he get a smokin' deal?

[MPTech]

I enjoyed that episode. I did notice a lot of squat when he put his foot in it. Bad suspension?

I'm surprised there aren't more e-kits being built. I know there is a Coupe, maybe 2 roadsters, and your 818. I would think more light cars would be great eCars (and they don't have to be as ugly as an OEM). I have seen a couple shows on Velocity, work with EV West, but man that is an expensive conversion.

[phil1734]

What gets me is why the Auto Industry won't go down the Diesel/Electric configuration like we use in Naval Vessels and Freight Trains.
It's probably too efficient and the cars would last too long to work with the industries planned obsolesce business model.
It would and save a lot of weight by not having all those batteries sitting under your seats waiting to blow up.

You would need something like a 50kw generator for the average sedan.

They run around $15,000 and are about the size of a conversion van.

[wleehendrick]

Just watched this episode on velocity and loved it. It's been a couple of years now since I built my electric 818 and working with the team at EV West and Zelectricbug was just the best experience. The setup was very similar to what they did to the BiTurbo and brought back a lot of fun memories. That was the best build I've done to date. Anywho, just wanted to share that it's on TV when even they thought it was going air on Jan 9th. Check it out.

Hi Eric! I watched it last night also, and it was quite fun/surprising to see the EVW shop on TV. I see Mike zipping around Encinitas in his electric VW van every so often.