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by sitkack 1516 days ago
That is a ridiculous amount of power. You realize you just said that a car needs a 200Hp motor. A 1990 Toyota Corolla (as new) has a 100Hp motor.

Battery plus a 10KW ICE can get you over a mountain pass. Going slower is always an option.
1 comments
hedgehog 1516 days ago
Not ridiculous, I had a 130HP / 100KW car that could do it only with protest, and modern cars are heavier. To do the same drive mostly on battery you'd need something like 50KWh which is much more than any of the current plug in hybrids I'm aware of. There's not that much weight or cost penalty going from 100HP to 200HP but quite a bit going from 15KWh to 50.
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brnt 1516 days ago
I suppose it depends on what your pushing over that mountain. Fiat Pandas are awesome mountain cars that handle anything (in the car) at 50-80hp.
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hedgehog 1515 days ago
Those look fun. Figure a 2x heavier car and US freeway speeds (70 mph / 112 km/h) and I think you would end up wanting a lot more power. Even if the number seems high you only rely on about half given altitude effects and protecting engine reliability. Notably even on something as light as the i3 BMW tried using a tiny engine for their range extender and ended up switching to a larger 170HP unit.
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