EVTV Smart Fortwo conversion to outdo Daimler for under $25,000

The EVTV team has recently finished electrifying their sweet '57 Porsche 356A Speedster replica and will soon be sending it off to their "roller" supplier, Special Editions Inc., for further testing and inspection. With that project in the can, they are ready to try something new. The projects that they have undertaken to date have been relatively expensive – $50,000 and up – and so it has been decided that the next vehicle to be lavished with batteries and an electric motor will be something especially for the more cost conscious among us – a Smart Fortwo for under $25,000.

They choose the diminutive two-seater mainly because it fulfills its limited city-car mission well, and with the price of gas relatively low, they can be picked up slightly used for $10,000 or less. Since the main expense in electric vehicle (EV) projects is typically the battery, EVTV plans on building a small pack using budget lithium cells from Thunder Sky. The plan is to give it a 50-mile range – they argue the Fortwo is a lousy long-distance car anyway – but install a hefty charger so it can be resupplied with juice rather quickly.

The planned drivetrain will include a 30 kW (40.23 horsepower) AC induction motor that puts out 66.38 pound feet of torque (continuous) and should accelerate better than the original three cylinder and go faster than the Smart ED that Daimler will allow you to lease for $31,252 and give back after four years. Sound good? Check out the video on their blog for more details.


[Source: EVTV]

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