CarDomain brings us the story of the Blade Runner , a battery-powered Hyundai Getz minicar which is the first vehicle recognized by Australia's Scientific and Industrial Research Organization as a domestically produced ZEV. For about $35k you get room for four, AC, powers steering, and a 62-mile range from pure electric power. The Blade Runner is the brainchild of Ross Blade from Harcourt Australia, whose Blade Electric Vehicles company strips the dirty gas-burning bits from the Getz and retrofits it with lithium iron phosphate batteries, regenerative braking and a 40kw electric engine. The Blade Runner even offers 880 lbs of towing capacity and a top speed of 75 mph, although the the 7 seconds to 62 kph (37 mph) must seem like an eternity when the kids are late for community gardening class. Still, the Blade Runner offers a peek at the burgeoning ZEV-retrofit industry, and a refreshing dose of reality in contrast to, say, the ZAP approach to bringing ZEVs to market.
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It’s $35,000 Australian dollars including GST. I don’t know how much the GST adds to the price, but at current exchange rates $35K Australian is about $32,300 US.
I wonder if Hyundai would sell cars to them without a drive train. If so, that should reduce the cost.
Recharge time is 9 hours at 240 volts and 10 amps. Would it be about twice as long at the usual 110 – 115 volt household circuit here?
Did you mean Zap’s approach to not bringing cars to market (wired.com)?
He was hardly alone. Over the years, ZAP has taken millions from investors and dealers eager to see the company’s line of green cars hit the road. But that line has never materialized. Of nearly a dozen groundbreaking eco-vehicles ZAP has promised in public announcements and on its Web site, only the Xebra and its sibling, a truck version, have ever made it to market. As a result, fans of electric cars have grown disillusioned, while individuals like Youssef have been financially devastated. What’s more, investment firms around the country have become cautious about financing electric vehicles after being repeatedly misled by one of the industry’s most visible companies.
Zap Deathwatch?
50merc :
…Recharge time is 9 hours at 240 volts and 10 amps. Would it be about twice as long at the usual 110 – 115 volt household circuit here?…
No. It would just draw 20 Amps.
I went to the Blade factory last week. The term backyard doesn’t quite do it justice. It is literally done in a farm shed with a dirt floor.
I wonder what they do with the motors? Wait, they’re Hyundais.. I don’t care.
The retrofit costs $35k. Does that mean I have to deliver them a $13k Getz for modification?
I’m all for electric cars, and hats off to them for trying something the large car manufacturers are loathe to attempt, but $50k for a 100km range car is a bit steep.
I hope they’re not disappointed when customers don’t exactly beat down their doors with orders. Only the gloomiest of doomer Peak Oilers will be interested.
What about converting a Prius ($37k) to a plug in hybrid? Surely $10k will pay for a larger battery pack and the associated electronics.