Welcome to part 1 of what I hope will be a very interesting project – converting a gasoline vehicle to an electric vehicle (EV)!

New registrants of EVs including both battery electric and plug-in hybrids increased by 70% between 2014 and 2015. Recognizing this market trend, myself and a pair of like-minded energy-enthusiastic graduate students, Tom and Andy, decided it would be worthwhile to gain hands on experience with a conversion project. [Global EV Outlook 2016]

This is the first installment cataloguing this conversion project. First step – select and acquire a vehicle for conversion. Factors considered during selection include: size, weight, aerodynamics, internal space for batteries, price, availability, and style (we want to like what we drive). Based on these parameters we located and decided to purchase this 1984 Audi Coupe GT.

Upon first inspection the car looks to be in quite good shape. There some wear and oxidation, but 2500 lbs is a reasonable weight, and there is plenty of space for batteries in the trunk and rear of the car. We were each drawn to the boxy 80’s style of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the approximate drag coefficient for this vehicle is 0.39. Still better than a bird! The fact that this is an older car with fewer integrated electrical subsystems will offer some design simplicity. Our planned utilization for this vehicle is to make it an efficient commuter vehicle fitting 2-4 passengers comfortably and safely. Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s an Audi – oh the magic of German engineering!

Considering the engine didn’t turn, we purchased our baby for a heck-of-a price. We took turns using a hand crank winch to pull the vehicle onto a flat bed trailer – great exercise – and brought her home with us!

Next steps: diagnose (and fix?) sticky rear breaks, get vehicle in garage, name the car.

Tags: Engineering, EV conversion