I've been working with the company that is developing the new motor controller, and had to revisit my own plans to make sure my truck's design isn't the weak link in the development chain. With the new battery chemistries available now (for a price) the day for
serious electric-powered performance is just around the corner. The controller being developed will be capable of 1.6 MEGAWATTS of power!!! That's 2145 horsepower!!! Also, the torque of electric motors is usually substantially higher than the horsepower numbers, and available from 0 rpm!
I don't really anticipate making or using that much power, but my plans were for a relatively measly 500hp/1000ft-lbs. The main limiting factor was my 90" wheelbase, which was purposed to make it fun to drive on an autocross course, and extremely challenging in a straight line. If I tap even half the power that controller is capable of supporting, a 90-inch wheelbase becomes more of a liability than a challenge. I decided to stretch the wheelbase out to 108 inches, and use the current mild steel chassis as a development mule. I plan to eventually replace the whole chassis with a full round tube, chrome-moly, one that will be heat-treated after welding. That plan came from a discussion on this forum about roll cages.
I revisted my artwork to reflect the new changes and add more detail. It still has the 2x3" rectangular frame rails, that will really be replaced with round tubing. I didn't have to stretch the front-three-quarter view rendering because I had already taken artistic license with it, and stretched it out to make it look better. That should have been my first clue.
I added some roll cage tubes, the forced-air cooling unit, a better representation of the grille, and the motor controller in the bed. There's also a 108" side-view, and full sketch of the rear-three-quarter view.
The stretch also provides room for more batteries - the cases will extend from under the seats, back, and under the bed. I didn't do those in the rendering or drawings yet. It goes from 1800 cells to 2992 of them. The output increases to 449 volts/2530 amps. The truck's weight will go up from 1200lbs to about 1500lbs. Range should increase to around 100 miles per charge.
