World’s First 100% Electric Ferrari Unveiled in California
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 04, 2016 -- Ferrari’s CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that Ferrari will never build an electric car. He drove a Tesla and afterwards said that the idea of a Ferrari without an internal combustion engine would be “an obscene concept” and that it’s something Ferrari will never do. Unfortunately for Sergio, the world’s first 100% electric Ferrari was recently completed by Electric GT, a San Diego based electric car conversion company.
Electric GT rescued a salvage titled 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS from certain death. Fires are nothing new to Ferrari and this car was no exception. Leaking fuel burned the motor and electrical systems of this former beauty beyond repair. Out of the ashes rose the perfect conversion opportunity. Restoration, design, engineering and recycling efforts beckoned a major undertaking for the formerly iconic 308 GTS.
The burned out Ferrari was stripped down to the bare chassis, and every original part that wasn’t used was returned back to the Ferrari community and quickly found homes in other 308 projects around the globe. “The Ferrari Chat community really contributed to this project” says Hutchison, “several guys from the forum came to see the project and some even flew across the country. The support was awesome.”
Hutchison worked with friend and EV specialist Michael Bream at EV West to engineer and design an electric powerplant that would preserve the integrity of the Ferrari. “We have to be careful with iconic cars, as we want to preserve their history, but still make them impressive to drive” states Bream. “Technology changes, and we are now in a time when an electric SUV is faster than a Ferrari sports car.”
The V8 was replaced with a first-ever triple electric HPEVS AC-51 motor assembly providing 330 ft lbs of torque with a range of 100 miles. The current battery of 30 kWh delivers excellent performance, and Electric GT will soon offer a pack with twice that capacity. “We can make it even faster and give it more range, but instead chose to keep it light and maintain the original feel of a Ferrari” said Hutchison. With nearly double the torque of the original engine, the electric motors are no contest for even the finest tuned Weber carburetors.
To capture the true driving experience, Electric GT used a Porsche G50 5 speed gearbox in a flipped mid-engine orientation to reliably deliver the electric Ferrari’s increased torque. Manual gearboxes in EVs improve efficiency and performance, as evidenced in Tesla’s planned inclusion of a transmission in the original Roadster, and Formula E’s use of gearboxes in their racecars. “The massive torque transferring through the transmission engages the driver in a clutch dropping gear pounding Ferrari experience.” states Hutchison.
Electric car numbers have grown significantly in the past year with over 1 million EV’s on the road. The problem is the typical car enthusiast doesn’t want a Nissan Leaf, and the only performance option is a Tesla sedan. Gone is the expensive maintenance associated with daily driving a Ferrari, and the annual passing of a smog check.
Justin Herrmann of Strategic Racing Designs who assisted on the Electric Ferrari project states “The Ferrari tube frame chassis makes it the perfect candidate for an EV conversion.” Herrmann continues “the aerodynamics, race inspired suspension and light weight design is ideal.”
Instead of ending up in the car crusher, Hutchison has brought this Ferrari back to life. “It will continue to be as iconic as ever with a new power plant that is always ready for some tire smoking, clutch banging driving.” Hutchison said “I love that I can drive a high performance Ferrari by charging it on my solar panels at home.”
The Electric Ferrari will be running in this year’s Re-Fuel Electric Car Races on May 22, 2016 at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA.
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Press Photos Link (11 Photos): http://ElectricGT.com/pr/pr1/
Electric Ferrari Press Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqMIIqqBCrU
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Contact:
Eric Hutchsion
Electric GT
1788 La Costa Meadows Dr, 107
San Marcos, CA 92078
619.246.6161
eric(at)electricgt(dot)com
http://www.ElectricGT.com
Facebook.com/ElectricGT
Twitter.com/ElectricGT
Instagram.com/electric.gt
Eric Hutchison, Co-Host
EV Show
EVShow.com
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About Electric GT:
Electric GT is based in San Diego, CA and specializes in restoration, conversion, and sales of bespoke classic electric vehicles including Italian Pininfarina designed Ferraris and Fiats. Electric GT is currently developing a 1980 Fiat 124 Spider which will come in at lower price and appeal to a wider variety of car enthusiasts. ElectricGT.com
About EV West:
EV West is an electric car company based in San Diego, California specializing in engineering, design, and conversions of existing road cars to high performance electric. EV West sells conversion packages, parts and manufactures a proprietary line of parts for electric vehicle conversions. EV West holds the record for the fastest ascent of Pikes Peak Hill Climb in a street legal electric car. They have also won in 2013 and 2014 at Laguna Seca ReFuel electric vehicle races. EV West designed and built the electric driveline for the first sanctioned off road Baja race by completing the 2013 NORRA Mexican 1000 AND finishing 25th overall in the first ever all electric off road racer. http://www.evwest.com
About HPEVS:
Hi Performance Electric Vehicle Systems (HPEVS) designs, develops and manufactures 3-phase AC induction drive systems for an array of vehicles and industries. These systems have been integrated into full-sized vehicles, neighborhood electric vehicles, ground support equipment, golf carts, motorcycles, industrial/utility vehicles and even amusement park attractions. These systems are designed to achieve maximum distance, power and efficiency. http://www.hpevs.com
About Strategic Racing Designs:
SRD is a full racing company providing sales and fabrication of high performance off road and track vehicles. The SRD team actively competes and supports racing teams and events. SRD is comprised of successful off-road race competitors with specialized skills in metallurgy, high performance engine design, TIG welding, design, fabrication, suspension performance, parts selection and assembly, systemic product testing/analysis and all around performance enhancement. The SRD Race Team is consists of the same members since its 2007 inception and boasts a wide variety of skill- sets and well-honed strategies. In addition to competing in several series, the team is well known for providing expert logistical and mechanical support for other premier class teams.
About Re-Fuel Races:
REFUEL welcomes electric cars and motorcycles to MAZDA Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, to showcase clean power transportation technology in a motorsports setting. Presented by Speed Ventures, REFUEL is an opportunity to push the boundaries of EV performance. Speed Ventures will provide track time and basic performance driving instruction for drivers of electric cars and riders of electric motorcycles. The event is open to production EV’s as well as to conversions and purpose built all electric race cars.
About FerrariChat:
FerrariChat is an online forum dedicated to connection and communication among Ferrari owners and enthusiasts globally. It offers discussions threads, technical resources, event details, parts and car forums and great general information all Ferrari.
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REFERRENCE LINKS:
Yahoo News: Sergio Marchionni Discussing Electric Obscenity for Ferrari: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ferrari-ceo-drives-tesla-promptly-calls-electric-cars-174151645.html
Drag Times: Tesla Model X P90D Ludicrous vs Ferrari F430 Drag and Roll Races http://www.dragtimes.com/blog/tesla-model-x-vs-ferrari-f430#ixzz47XA1yPeT
Eric Hutchison, Electric GT, +1 (619) 246-6161, [email protected]
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