Romanian Design Team Proposes Car With Detachable Engine

[GeekEV]

This is a very interesting concept. Particularly if one could swap it yourself at home...

So you got yer gasoline cars, and yer electric cars. And yer extended-range electrics, and yer plug-in hybrids. Sure, old news, been there, done that.

How about an electric car with a gasoline engine you can swap in and out as you need it?

Think of it as a range-extended electric car (like the Chevrolet Volt) that doesn't need to carry around the engine when it's not needed.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1074543_romanian-design-team-proposes-car-with-detachable-engine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Herm]

I would prefer to store it in the car.. ready to start with the flick of a switch

 

[IBELEAF]

Worthless... Just pack more batteries in that same space for extended range

 

[Volt3939]

The best part of that page was the link:

http://www.greencarreports.com/pictures/1074536_opel-ampera-chevy-volt-wins-monte-carlo-alt-fuel-rally_gallery-1#100386355" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GeekEV]

Worthless... Just pack more batteries in that same space for extended range

Sure, unless you want to drive more than a few hundred miles...

 

[camasleaf]

Worthless... Just pack more batteries in that same space for extended range

There were times when I drove 7-8 hours with just one 10 minutes stop for gas. Batteries are decades away from achieving that range and quick charging. This concept could help EVs if it was to enter the market in a 2-3 years, but most likely it wont. It is basically a fancy range extender that Ingineer has.

 

[GeekEV]

Worthless... Just pack more batteries in that same space for extended range

Sure, unless you want to drive more than a few hundred miles...

I wanted to add to my earlier comment. If you look at the illustration that accompanies the article, it does indeed look like the swappable module WOULD have more batteries when you're not using the ICE. Notice the module on the lift with the green bit that matches the green batteries under the floor? ...

 

[BRBarian]

Forget the engine. Just setup a series of locations where fresh battery packs are ready to be swapped in. It's a nice design for that.

 

[adric22]

I'd feel a lot more enthusiastic about such a car if the design was Japanese instead of Romanian.

 

[camasleaf]

I'd feel a lot more enthusiastic about such a car if the design was Japanese instead of Romanian.

Renault has a Romanian subsidiary, that had some success in Europe. They also tried to make an EV few years ago:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/02/electric-dacia-des-moines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;