"This BMW 1602 EV swap is over seven years old and is still used as a daily in London. It retains the four-speed gearbox, paired with an electric motor with characteristics similar to its original engine. If done today, this same conversion would have a number of advantages and improvements. If there has ever been an EV conversion that retained much of the combustion car driving experience, it has to be this BMW 1602 (which BMW actually turned into an EV in 1972)."
"From the outside, it looks like nothing has changed, and its builders wanted to keep the driving experience as close to the original by keeping the manual gearbox. But it actually goes further than that. As Richard Morgan from Electric Classic Cars, who converted this BMW around seven years ago, explains, the motor was carefully chosen. They specifically searched for a motor with a similar torque delivery and rev range as the original combustion engine,"
"They also intentionally left out soundproofing of the engine bay where the motor is located, so its sound does come through into the cabin telling you when to shift gear. This looks like such a fun car to drive, and what's best about it is that it doesn't need to simulate anything. The sound that you hear is from the actual motor, and you need to shift gears because the power tapers off above 6,000 rpm."
A BMW 1602 was converted to electric over seven years ago and remains a daily driver in London. The conversion retained the original four-speed manual gearbox to preserve the combustion-car driving experience. The electric motor was chosen for similar torque delivery and rev range so changing gear near the familiar redline remains necessary. Drivers can use second or third gear for relaxed daily driving or shift through gears for spirited runs that mirror the original behavior. Soundproofing was omitted around the motor so actual motor noise enters the cabin to cue shifts, and power tapers above 6,000 rpm.
Read at insideevs.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]