Electric Elan

[DJW]

Oooh shall I EV the Radical

Enjoyed the video and can see the appeal when the prices come down.

[Bud English]

Ah, but if you do will it still be a Radical?

I know you were just kidding. It's radical enough already.

[Bombay Racing Green]

Nice video Mark! My motor is back in the Europa and I’ve added another Tesla module bringing the voltage up to 120V total. It made a huge difference in the motor output. My Europa S2 is a similar weight to an S1 which is what I was aiming for. This second lockdown and a very quiet winter at work will finally give me the push to get the bodywork done. I’ve still got my Nissan Leaf motor set up lurking in the back of the garage. Perhaps for the next one! I really want to move up to the 400v OEM range. Home energy storage with solar is also on the list.

[LotusElon]

Nice 1 .. I'd LOVE a Europa EV !

Maybe after this weirdness I'll get Elon over to Ireland ... I hear there is great charging infrastructure.

Have you been in touch with your local Damien Maguire ? a god on the EV conversion scene https://youtube.com/c/Evbmw

I hear he can whisper A LOT of power from leaf motors

[Bombay Racing Green]

Yeah, Damien promised to build me a controller for the Leaf inverter. That was before all the madness. He’s a VERY busy man but what he can do with salvaged parts is amazing. The Europa is super light. Charging network is ok here. I drove my standard range Model 3 from my home in Wicklow to Belfast (for work). It made it on a full charge with 10% to spare and it didn’t catch fire nor did I run over any pedestrians! I’ll never go back to an ICE for my daily driver.

Am aiming to use my Tesla battery modules ultimately for home energy storage. Hope to drive on sunshine in the future. Did you every watch Jack Rickard on EVTV? Sadly he passed away late last year but he was way ahead of his time. His YouTube videos are a treat if you can speed them up! I may not have agreed with all of his political views but I respected his knowledge and enjoyed his sense of humor.

[LotusElon]

Yes sad about Jack , I too loved his videos. Now also enjoy, Vintage Voltage and zero-ev for inspiration.

I use the 28Kwh batteries in the Elan to also power the house kinda V2G .. only limited by the wattage of the DC-DC converter.

[LotusElon]

Just did 41 miles using only 4.8KWh !
Like loads of people enjoying sun after 2+ months lockdown. Traffic flowed but at 40-50mph, it helped only having to push 650Kg / 4' wide / minimal CdA.
At that rate the potential range is 239 miles - maybe more if also hypermiling, but where's the fun in that

[h20hamelan]

Interesting stuff

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/29/lot ... X8UpzzcMw3

[Bombay Racing Green]

Nice one Mark! Thanks for sharing the info on your consumption. What’s the next project?!

[mark030358]

When the demise of the ICE finally comes so will my love of cars. I much prefer the smell of hot oil and petrol, than ozone.

Electric does nothing for me, sorry ... just my 2p worth.

[LotusElon]

Until Lotus go electric, with their own EV's with added lightness.
I humbly suggest you drive
a) a new Mini e (fun hot hatch category)
b) Tesla model 3

And then reflect on what a lightweight, sharp steering electric lotus could be like.

I understand glorious noises from v12's and steam trains on full chat, which on occasions, raise hair on back of neck. But generally smells and noises are like f*rts ..we like our own but not others

AC motors don't spark so no ozone.

In my humble opinion, The benefits of electro magnetic power over exploding dead animal juices way outway any perceived negativity, even without going into which is better for the future...

Instant, smooth 'go' at any speed.

When I get back into any ice car I find the lag between pedal and actual go, horrible ..
imagine what lotus steering with 2 inch free play at the wheel would feel like, and you get the contrast.

Not having to slip the clutch and adjust gears, but still having smooth razor sharp response ( unlike any ice slush box ) from the right foot gives wonderful dynamic control in favourite corners at the limit.

The advantage of this in a 60's Elan Vs a modern grip monster or SUV, and say a Porsche Taycan, is you get to experience this on public twisty b roads at sensible speeds without bugging anyone, (as well as on track).

Snag is most of us and especially motoring journos with a lifetime of skills and experiences are afraid of change.

It's just my opinion, but I have a positive feeling that a love of Lotus, and early lotus can continue for another 50 years.

[gherlt]

+1
I do love my Elans ("it fits me")
I do love the twincam
I do like cars in general, not stupid ones (city SUV, overweight or posh cars)
My long distance/family car is Golf Variant tdi

I do love my Seat MII electric !
This is a very small, no thrills, cheapish city car, electrified as an afterthought. Well built, but cheapish.
But it brought back the joy of driving anywhere including in the city ! The right amount of power, smooth, lots of par, best handling of any small car (ok, Smart Roadster might be better) due to low centre of gravity. I never thought it would be THAT good.
And in my case, 25€ costs for driving 2000km, due to mostly home charging with excess solar power. Insurance is half the costs of previous car (Nissan Micra 100bhp).

[gherlt]

When I saw the Elon first time, I was very sceptical, but I see the result as quite convincing.
The classic soundtrack of a twin cam engine is missing, alright. But that sound is not the best either, i do prefer the Ferrari V8s, the aircooled Porsche Boxer engine, some old F1 engines ...
So, for the weekend drive through the landscape, I would not miss the engine sound. I remember the most satisfying drives with my M100 (in my youth) - doing 30-50mph in 5th- through natural reserve parks, hearing animal wildlife, birds, wind.

I certainly would do the conversion of the Elan too.
Especially if I get a car without engine. But at a later stage, when energy density has evolved, to have less weight and/or more range or a better packaging. I would not ask for Tesla-level power.
I like the Elon's approach of being reversible...

[NedK]

I went to the Syon Park show last week, and the biggest presence there among exhibitors/trade was electric conversions. I talked to some of the vendors and got the follow impressions:

1. The general feeling on cost of doing an Elan +2 was £20k-45k, and that range is around the spec of the batteries.
2. Also, the general view among vendors was that you'd keep the gearbox (or at least a gearbox of some type) as this means you can use a less powerful motor
3. I don't see any evidence of component prices coming down. The market forces at the moment seem to me keeping prices buoyant, and nobody has broken ranks... yet.
4. New batteries are on the way which are smaller than Teslas and more powerful than the already smaller Chinese ones. In a smallish sports car small batteries are needed to get maximum efficient use of space
5. Nobody had done an Elan or +2 yet. Plenty of E Types, a Morgan, Beetles, various old Land Rovers and some Ferraris (308 vintage)
6. Best practice seems to be using only the existing holes/brackets/fittings, and not messing about with anything structural. This makes sense.

The speed I'm going with my restoration, I'm hoping that by the time I get to the powertrain, prices will have fallen and somebody will have got the fabrication work nailed already. The question is, if I partially fund it by selling my Twincam engine, when will the price be optimal... Hmm...

Ned

[LotusElon]

Hi Ned,
Good summary.
All I'd add on the cost is the parts are ~£5k for batteries (~30KWh) £2-9K for motor/mounting £2k for ancillaries (charger, DC-DC converter etc). ie £7 to £16K in parts.

THE biggest factor in the cost is the labour which would make the totals as suggested £20-£45K

However, if you are restoring a car yourself, you can do a conversion yourself.