Speeding through the patchy, rough terrains of the Dakar Rally might be a challenge in itself, but Latvian race car builder OSCar has decided to take this bull by horns, by trying to crack the rally in an EV. This EV is actually an electrified version of Chevrolet LS-powered e3, the company’s own car.
The Dakar Rally is famous for being hard for both the vehicles and their drivers. The reason is its 5,500 miles of terrain that makes the participants face some of the harshest conditions in South America. The rally might prove tough for even the strongest of internal combustion engines. Not to mention the challenges that lie ahead for the drivers of the machines. Though these difficulties don’t seem to affect the car builder yet, it has planned to send a support truck and an gas-powered e3, which would accompany the vehicle throughout the rally.
The max speed of 86 miles per hour might not impress the listeners but if the car builder’s claims are to go by, speed won’t be an issue for the vehicle. The EV from the OSCar gets its power by a permanent magnetic motor that generates 180 and 315 kW and has a torque 370 and 590 lb. ft.
As a measure to help the eO cover long distances, it will have a Nissan-sourced gasoline engine. This will actually work as a generator. The regenerative battery system will help the generator charge the batteries. However, OSCar claims that in situations of light strain we can expect the eO to run approx 190 miles. This distance might reduce to almost half in case of high pressure. To know how true these claims and expectations may turn out to be, we’ll have to wait till January 1 2011, the day when Dakar Rally starts.
Via: Autoblog
