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Written by:
Howard Walker
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
04/19/2007 - 07:00 PM
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Adding WCE's 959 body kit to a 1974-vintage 911 is just the start of the fun... ยป More Photos
Going "green" is all well and good. But if it means having to drive an eco-weenie Prius for the rest of my days, I might have to watch the polar bears break into a sweat.
That Tesla electric two-seater, which Lotus is going to start building next year, could be the solution for sports car lovers who want to go "green" but still drive a machine that's "mean".
It's loosely based on an Elise and, with its lithium ion power pack, is claimed to be good for zero-to-60 mph sprints in four seconds, a top speed of 130 mph, and 250 miles between charges.
But the thing is going to cost $100,000. For that, I'd rather buy a used Elise for a third of the price, have fun carving curves at the weekend, and ride a bike to work.
Electric cars don't, however, have to be mega-expensive, or as dull as tofu. How about an electrified Porsche "959" with 1200 lb-ft of torque, the muscle to zip to 50mph in five seconds, and the juice to run for 80 miles between charges? All for a fraction of the price of a Tesla.
Catch up on the latest in Formula 1 each month in RACER. Scott Speed relates the story behind his turbulent off-season with the Toro Rosso team in our May issue, on sale now!
World Class Exotics no, it's not an cheesy Vegas strip bar over in West Palm Beach, Fla. started out back in 1998 doing glass fiber body kit conversions for various Porsche models. The 959 conversion is still one of his best sellers.
Then a couple
These days, Liddle can convert pretty much any 911, from a late-'60s air-cooled car, to the latest water-cooled models. His favorites, for their simplicity, are the classic 1978-'83 911SCs. You bring your own, or let Liddle track down a suitable donor car.
For the conversion, out comes the rear-mounted flat-6 and transmission, along with the fuel tank, and in goes a bank of 16 high-capacity lead acid batteries eight up front, eight at the back.
Adding WCE's 959 body kit to a 1974-vintage 911 is just the start of the fun... ยป More Photos
Then, in the middle of the engine bay, he drops in an industrial-sized NetGain WarP 11-inch electric motor hooked up to a 2000-amp, water-cooled Zilla Z2K controller. The 1200 lb-ft motor drives the rear wheels through the 911's standard five-speed manual transmission. Liddle developed his own adapter plate to mate the motor to the gearbox.
It's an extremely neat conversion; Liddle even uses the 911's trademark front-fender fuel filler for the plug-in electric cable socket. The wiring is industrial grade, the batteries well-mounted and there's plenty of space around the conversion.
And getting to the rear-mounted motor and batteries couldn't be easier push a button and engine cover levitates electrically. Yet another party-piece to impress friends and family.
The car we got to play with was Liddle's daily driver, which he converted 18 months ago. It's based on a '74 911 coupe to which he added his surprisingly convincing-looking 959 body kit.
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