Electic Lotus Elan C10 conversion kit

[TrueBlue]

With reference to the building of the Tesla by Lotus in GB and the development in the latest batteries available
I am wondering how many Elan owners would be interested in an electric base model to be made for the elan panels from ur existing elan to fit onto?
If anyone is interested please post below simply the amount you would be willing to pay for a BRAND NEW ELECTRIC elan!!!
I for sure would pay 10k so just enter an amout or just say yes
if we can get 100 of us saying yes to upto say 10k - 40k+ I am sure we could get Lotus or another factory to make them for us...
sweet

and i also just happen to know and it just dawned on me that Paul from Peninsula who was part of the original Lotus elan production team is currently looking for a Job!! and poor old peninsula needing a little help me thinks!....they've been very good to me

Me havn't got enough money on my own to finance such a major project so if others here are interested please show ur interest and if there is enough interest then I and I can do it..

In the meantime i will go and get ballpark quotes from various factories for the whole job a-z as i will need a base model for other body shapes to fit in/onto for Avacar.TV customers

IF ANYONE CAN OFFER ANY TECHNICAL EXPERTISE THEN PLEASE ALSO POST BELOW BEFORE IT IS SOLIDIFIED

[TrueBlue]

Good morning everyone a nice sunny monday again.... everyday is a sunday so i read on a book cover
I just need an estimate of the cost of this project before it is started
the other alternative might be a new Hydrogen powered engine! so i wonder who makes those?
Me is perplexed
Does anyone have a motor industry trade directory?
guess i'll look up engine manufacturers on google...doh!

[TrueBlue]

i dont think this is a proper hydrogen powered engine but interesting anyhow
http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/103508384/CNG_LPG_HYDROGEN_Conversion_part.html
however it might increase the fuel tank size requirement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle

I wonder what the cheapes price is for 100 teslas without bodies?

[TrueBlue]

OK just turned the wheel... ive just emailed sales@lotus in English with the following request in the hope of getting a rough estimate of the production costs, i will also contact tesla and other smaller vehicle designers:

Hi

Please can you provide a quote for 100, 200 and 500 of what is the Tesla base model.
All parts without the body both assembled and not assembled.

Many thanks

Richard Bailey
(Current Lotus owner
member of LEC

[clemo]

my friend is travelling the world in a bio diesel (chip fat) converted bus ,

http://www.biotruckexpedition.com/

i find other sources of energy very interesting ,

i wonder if kers could be added to your elan ? have telsa thought of this option?

[GeoffSmith]

I'm sure you've done some research, but I suggest you read this first (especially the UK price of ~£90k). Apart from the chassis, there is very little Lotus in it and all the bits you're after are bolted onto the chassis/bodyshell by TESLA. You're also proposing to replace the light/strong carbon fibre with our heavy bodyshell..... WHY?

10/10 for blue sky thinking (you'd probably get an innovation award where I work) but -10/10 for practicality I'm afraid.

What about this Hydrogen idea though? Maybe something like this......

H2Elan.jpg

(33.77 KiB) Not downloaded yet

[Monty]

The Tesla is a huge flop and electric cars are a gimick unless they can provide there own Electricity

Electric cars are not the future, the national grid can`t even cope when millions of people switch there kettle on when the adverts come on during Corrie

[GeoffSmith]

Economies don't stack up: Tesla @ 120mpg vs Elise @ 30mpg with £50k price difference (fuel at £6 per gallon):
M/30×6 - M/120×6 = 50,000 = M/5 - M/20 = 3M/20 so M=20×50,000/3 = 300,000 miles..... but lifespan of battery packs is 100,000 miles and cost £30k.

However, electric cars plugged in overnight will be a useful (very cheap 'cause the power generators haven't paid for it) energy store when we've wasted loads of money on wind power.

[TrueBlue]

Geoff: I'm just trying to get an idea of manufacturing costs...yes i see i would have to contact Tesla instead of Lotus in that case... in the end the lotus elan chassi would have to be re-made with the new lightweight material but keeping the existing elan panels, doors, bonet, i guess just because the original elan moulds got lost (in a shipwreck so i heard)

as far as chariging goes the national grid has to adapt, thats not my problem but i know it can adapt, even if it has to use mostly nuclear....

Thanks for the wikepedia link, the more i look at the figures the more i realise that the end product is likely to cost 30 or 40k+ plus each, which I'm not sure any of us would be willing to pay for a new electric elan....?
or even how many elan owners in the world would buy an electric elan like the tesla for 40k+ ?

it seems so rediculous, with my cad knowledge and limited engineering knowledge it just seems so much simpleler/cheaper, but they all bump up the price with their project managers, and high profile fancy designers etc etc etc and ofcourse the additional profits they want to make

I think this is just gonna remain just a dream until i ever become a multi millionaire...

but i'll get a price from testla or another factory anyway, just out of curiosity
i dont wanna go on never knowing how much it would cost

and also as owner of http://www.avacar.TV I need to get a ballpark price and contacts for an electric 'base' model anyway for various different body shapes to fit in/onto....

[Specky]

Kenetic energy recovery system, as per F1 and the new generation of Loti.

TTFN

[TrueBlue]

Kenetic energy recovery system, as per F1 and the new generation of Loti.

oh kewl! thanks for that very interesting, but dont tell the women or theyll want them fitted to the bed **P**

[Specky]

Kenetic energy recovery system, as per F1 and the new generation of Loti.

oh kewl! thanks for that very interesting, but dont tell the women or theyll want them fitted to the bed **P**

it's already been invented, it's called an electric blanket...

TTFN

[Nickydee]

Inspired by Richards efforts today, I've just had a word with my mates at WAN Industries, mentioned the LEC they have offered to do a full Kers kit for our Elans at £960 plus Vat , but we need to order ten. This is a significant saving on the RRP of £2990.

Th kit includes the following

1. Lowered Suspension.
2. Full bodykit in "racing effect" grey primer. Please do not apply paint as its ruins the look.
3. Chrome wheel arch extensions.
4. 20" chrome alloys.
5. 5.5 inch exhaust pipe.
6. Garish stereo including oversize speakers in the doors, a 6ft bass box behind the seats.


So come on everybody this WAN kers kit is a snip at this price - group buy time.

1. Nickydee
2.

[TrueBlue]

Inspired by Richards efforts today, I've just had a word with my mates at WAN Industries, mentioned the LEC they have offered to do a full Kers kit for our Elans at £960 plus Vat , but we need to order ten. This is a significant saving on the RRP of £2990.

Th kit includes the following

1. Lowered Suspension.
2. Full bodykit in "racing effect" grey primer. Please do not apply paint as its ruins the look.
3. Chrome wheel arch extensions.
4. 20" chrome alloys.
5. 5.5 inch exhaust pipe.
6. Garish stereo including oversize speakers in the doors, a 6ft bass box behind the seats.


So come on everybody this WAN kers kit is a snip at this price - group buy time.

1. Nickydee
2.

moderator please delete this kers post from hijacking my thread

[ashm]

Firstly, the Elan doesn't so much have a bunch of separate "panels" as one big tub and a few other bits bonded on around the edges. Take a flick through the parts guide and have a look at how it's put together; not much scope for relocating the powertrain outside the existing envelope.

The Elan wasn't designed for the kind of weight that a big battery pack would entail, and I don't know how well it'd take to it. We had a Tesla for a test day at work and the general consensus was that it felt like a bit of a whale compared to the electric Elise, and even more so compared to the standard Elise. In any case, your best option would be to pull the engine, transmission and fuel tank then figure out where to put the new stuff in the spaces. I'd strongly suggest you leave the bodywork well alone and only place things where the existing powertrain was located. Also I fear the kind of torque you'd get from a motor like that in the Tesla would not suit a FWD car anyway.

Bear in mind that such a project will require a pretty diverse engineering team and take at least 12 weeks or so of desk work (assuming a suitable electric powertrain already exists. Think many months otherwise). Also unless you want to start a company to do this, you're going to have to contract the work out. Suitably skilled individuals will charge you approx. £900+ per day on a consultancy basis. Engineering time will be a major cost, although the components will still be very pricy at such low volumes. It'd almost certainly be considerably cheaper to just buy a Tesla.

If I were planning to make an electric sports car, I'd probably start with something like a Lotus 7-type kit. Like these guys (warning - miserable website design). I randomly ended up talking to the MD's father at a dinner earlier this year, apparently they converted a Westfield to electric drive and use it for racing demos. They're based near me, just opposite McLaren HQ. I'd suggest if you want to investigate what's involved in such a project, they might be a good place to go for advice.

Of course, I'm assuming this whole thread isn't a joke, which I'll admit was my original assumption...

Adam

[rip]

Inspired by Richards efforts today, I've just had a word with my mates at WAN Industries, mentioned the LEC they have offered to do a full Kers kit for our Elans at £960 plus Vat , but we need to order ten. This is a significant saving on the RRP of £2990.

Th kit includes the following

1. Lowered Suspension.
2. Full bodykit in "racing effect" grey primer. Please do not apply paint as its ruins the look.
3. Chrome wheel arch extensions.
4. 20" chrome alloys.
5. 5.5 inch exhaust pipe.
6. Garish stereo including oversize speakers in the doors, a 6ft bass box behind the seats.


So come on everybody this WAN kers kit is a snip at this price - group buy time.

1. Nickydee
2.

[clemo]

Some may be making lite of it but i true is serious ...

Passion may have taken over on financial thoughts though , as your input would suggest this at an expensive way to take the elan into 2011... without it being the elan mk3 thats coming out in 2012?

[Nickydee]

This guy has designed a number of successful kit cars and recently a number of lightweight electric vehicles. His website is interesting.

http://www.vehicle-designer.co.uk/mainpage.htm

[TrueBlue]

thanks ashm, that is very good advice,
not it's not a joke because to put it simply, I love the elan design but want an electric car...
Thanks, the link you have given is just the people i need to speak with when Avacar.TV takes off
as far as my own electric elan goes, well i guess anyone who wanted one would just have to save up our pennies, LOTS of them
I would rather do that than buy the tesla for 90k just because i like the elan shape

thanks for ur sound advice
and for another random meet

Richard

[TrueBlue]

This guy has designed a number of successful kit cars and recently a number of lightweight electric vehicles. His website is interesting.

http://www.vehicle-designer.co.uk/mainpage.htm

thanks nickydee thats another one for the call list

you guys have no idea what a weight this is lifting off my shoulders