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Rally racing's favorite privateer and Pikes Peak veteren, Bill Caswell [of the controversial "Death of BMW's M Brand" Jalopnik article] stopped by the EV West shop to take the electric M3 for a test ride. Ride along with Bill as he takes his first ride in a performance oriented electric vehicle.

EV West took a 1995 BMW M3 and replaced its 6 cylinder 240hp S50 engine with a NetGain DC electric motor and Evnetics Soliton Shiva motor controller, packing 420 totally green horsepowers! [Original Thread and Video]

[DrivenByE30]

Warp 6 !! This car has made Bill a Believer !!!


Jesus!! i want my time driving that E36 too

[kyleb350]

Anyone know how much torque this is putting out?

[Ace_HollyWood]

Cost of production is probably insane

[bklynbimmer]

side note: where can we get that t-shirt?

[positiveions]

made him a believer.

[wontonbomb]

Originally Posted by bklynbimmer

side note: where can we get that t-shirt?

You can buy it here:

http://caswellmotorsport.com/?page_id=14

[richb811]

Looks like a lot of fun!

[PrimoM3]

LMFAO at the title on the homepage. "M's biggest fan"...

[JBiddy]

It's like a go kart! SIIICK!!!

[Platinstorm]

Shifting with an electric engine? Never see that before

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by Platinstorm

Shifting with an electric engine? Never see that before

I believe something to do with electric motors themselves doesn't require them to have as many, but they usually do. The Tesla Roadster, for example, has two gears.

[RedDotRacer]

Ev west is around the corner from me. They are always wrenching on things. That car is a beast and so is the shops ford ranger truck. Props to ev west.

[Pauldramos]

That is awesome! Zero emissions and that much power. Go electric!!!

[M3 Adjuster]

I was hoping his fifteen minutes of fame was up....

[Platinstorm]

Originally Posted by Ammonia

I believe something to do with electric motors themselves doesn't require them to have as many, but they usually do. The Tesla Roadster, for example, has two gears.

I thought it was one of the benefits of electric cars do not need to shift?
They changed the gearbox to an single-speed gearbox

on wiki you can find:

The company previously worked with several companies, including XTrac and Magna International, to find the right automatic transmission, but a two-gear solution proved to be too challenging. This led to substantial delays in production. At the "Town Hall Meeting" with owners in December 2007, Tesla announced plans to ship the initial 2008 Roadsters with their interim Magna two-speed direct shift manual transmissions locked into second gear, limiting the performance of the car to less than what was originally stated (0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 5.7 seconds instead of the announced 4.0 seconds). Tesla also announced it would upgrade those transmissions under warranty when the final transmission became available.[50][52][91] At the "Town Hall Meeting" with owners on January 30, 2008, Tesla Motors described the planned transmission upgrade as a single-speed gearbox with a drive ratio of 8.27:1 combined with improved electronics and motor cooling that retain the acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in under 4 seconds and an improved motor limit of 14,000 rpm to retain the 125 mph (201 km/h) top speed.[92] The upgraded system also improved the maximum torque from 200 to 280 ft·lbf (270 to 380 N·m) and improves the Roadster's quarter mile times.

[Easternedge]

Have had 4 e36's...2 325's, 2 M3 sedans & on my second N54. I'd love the Fawkkk to take one of these for a ride! Combo of both S/C n turbo same time IMO.... actually heard some interesting " muted" sounds

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by Pauldramos

That is awesome! Zero emissions and that much power. Go electric!!!

Well none from the car itself but plenty from charging it. Unless of course you charge with 100% renewables. Even then technically you need to factor in the emissions from the manufacturing of the renewable device...

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by Platinstorm

I thought it was one of the benefits of electric cars do not need to shift?
They changed the gearbox to an single-speed gearbox

on wiki you can find:

Hmm. Then I'm not too sure. Maybe its cost prohibitive to develop something like that?

[Terraforce1]

Very cool, looks like it pulls really well

[s4awd]

The smile on his face says it all. The future looks bright indeed!

[bradleyland]

So awesome!

Regarding gearboxes, etc. Electric motors present a different set of challenges than IC engines.

An electric motor has a very flat torque curve. They generate torque from a standstill all the way to 15k RPM (varies). Ask any gearbox mechanic, and they'll tell you that torque is what breaks gearboxes.

Building a gearbox that can hold up under the stress of such a flat torque curve isn't easy. A gear set needs to be strong to hold up under the torque load, but needs to dissipate heat readily when operating at high RPM. The two engineering needs are in conflict. A bulky gear set is strong, but retains a lot of heat. A lightweight gear set dissipates heat readily, but can't hold up under the torque. I expect we'll see some innovation in gearbox engineering as EV picks up steam in the enthusiast market. Active cooling, exotic materials... you name it, it's coming.

One thing is for sure. There is no reason to think that the trend toward EV means a decline in fun for the enthusiast. To the contrary, I think EVs have the potential to be just as exciting as an IC engine, if not more.