The Era of the Electric Car

Times are changing folks. We can no longer look at electric cars as cute, well-meaning, prototypes built in twos or threes that will undoubtedly become some green freak's collector's item. Toyota and Honda helped plant the seed of a viable alternative to the standard internal combustion engine with their hybrid setups, namely the Prius and the Insight respectively. Heck, even GM dabbled with the EV-1 concept that it later decided was just too risky, or too dangerous to their bottom line to put into mass production.

Given the styling maybe it was smart to kill this one...

But through all the trials and tribulations of attempting to make a viable all electric car, nobody could come close to the desired range demanded by consumers. When you think about this, people demanding an electric car that goes hundreds of miles on a single charge is a little silly. The average commuter rarely drives over 40 to 60 miles per day. The need for longer range comes only when a vacation or road trip is in order. And where do we look to for that kind of range? Certainly not the failed GM prototype nor even the new Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. Those cars make fine commuters but as far as range, there is only one player in the game: Tesla Motors.

The future of the car, ladies and gentlemen

Tesla offers cars that are not only capable of hundreds of miles worth of range on a single charge, they also offer cars that are a blast to drive. Electric motors provide maximum torque nearly instantly after the accelerator is pressed which is why you see headlines and funny YouTube videos of a Tesla Model S, a family sedan, wiping the floor with say a Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

Tesla doesn't stop at long range on a single charge nor the oodles of power on tap. The Model S in particular comes loaded with technology. The main console features a touchscreen that controls the various functionalities of the entire car and offers a view into all the data a car guy would ever need from his ride. Does it stop there? NO. Just like your iPhone or Android smartphone, a Tesla Model S can receive updates over the air. That means it is constantly connected to Tesla HQ and if they find a way to improve the car they can beam that improvement straight into your automobile with you being none the wiser. You just benefit from the improvement automatically without any hassle or bothering to take it to a car dealership for the upgrade.

The Tesla Roadster that started it all

I will always be a fan of the standard internal combustion engine. I will especially always be a fan of the Wankel rotary internal combustion engine. But when you line up internal combustion automobiles next to the technological marvel that is the Tesla Model S, there is really no comparison. In nearly every category, except perhaps styling which is subjective anyway, the Tesla comes out on top. Another great thing about Tesla? They are made in the good old USA. Until the bankruptcies of the big three automakers in the US, we were considered the automotive powerhouse of the world. Tesla Motors is bringing that trophy back to the shores of the United States and I personally could not be happier. The era of the electric car is here, and if you aren't excited, you need to read the performance stats again my friend...

My Car Is Powered By Exploding Triangles

Rotary Love

How many of you readers know what a Wankel rotary engine is? Don't be shy now, raise those hands up so I can count you. Only a couple? That's fine, that's why I am writing this article: Prepare for a quick education!

Here is my 1991 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II:

I get honked at a lot... 

Take a guess as to how many cylinders this baby has. Many folks assume this little car is rocking a four cylinder engine, simply due to its size. While a 2.5 liter four banger may fit nicely in here should I want to swap engines, the truth is my car had zero cylinders and a much smaller displacement than nearly every four cylinder engine on the road today.

How can this be? Is it an electric car? Surely it is too old to have a battery that would power it for any reasonable distance. Zero cylinders? It must be magic! 

No, it isn't magic, its a 1.3 liter (1300 cc's) turbocharged rotary engine. It has two triangle shaped rotors housed in a pair of trochoidal rotor housings. These two triangles whip around a specialized elliptical shaft which then transfers the power directly to the main drive shaft. Got it? If not, here is a perfect, simple animation to help you understand how a rotary engine functions:

 http://www.animatedengines.com/wankel.html

With the stock setup and a boost level of around 6psi, my car puts down 200 horsepower to the rear wheels. Rotary engines have the benefit of being able to rev to astronomical levels. And the higher the revs go the more power the engine produces. My particular car has a redline at 7,000 RPMs. It even has an alarm buzzer that goes off once your tachometer swings past 7k, letting you know that, while this is fun and all, shifting may be a good idea right about now. 

These motors have been around for quite awhile, but Mazda has always been the company to put them into widespread production. Starting with the Mazda Cosmo Sport in the 1960s, and most recently with the RX-8, rotaries have revved their way into the hearts of anyone whose had the pleasure of driving one. 

A beautiful green Mazda Cosmo Sport

Another benefit of rotary engines is that you can mod and tune them to your heart's desire. They are able to handle a remarkable amount of power for their size. Some 3rd generation RX-7s are able to put down 800+ horsepower by turning up the boost on their turbos (or getting larger ones), and then tuning the fuel system to handle a different gas to air mixture ratio. 

Do rotaries have a downside? Alas, yes they do. A stock rotary engine will usually make it to 120,000 miles and then blow up. The corners of the triangle shaped rotor have seals (called 'apex' seals) that can only handle so many revolutions inside the rotor housing before failing. My RX-7 made it to 118,000 miles and then, like so many other rotaries driven that far, my apex seals blew and I had to have the engine rebuilt. This is a pricey proposition for most folks, even though the engine has about one tenth of the parts that a traditional piston engine contains. Many mechanics won't touch rotaries because the rebuilding process is so much different than what they are used to. Many people simply send the car to the junkyard to rot or replace the rotary engines with a V8 or other piston engine. While wanting a piston engine with generally better reliability in the long run is understandable, there is still nothing quite like a Wankel.

3rd Generation RX-7: One of the most beautiful cars in the world.

So I challenge my rotary loving brothers and sisters to keep the dream alive! Don't sully your car's reputation by replacing a blown Wankel engine with a piston engine. That way you can chuckle to yourself at Jiffy Lube when the oil change man asks you how many cylinders your engine has, and reply: "Oh my car has no cylinders. My car is powered by exploding triangles."

Their faces will be priceless.

The Original Four Door Porsche

Ever wondered what the Porsche Panamera would have looked like if it had been conceived, designed, and built during the 1960s? 

Me neither, but that doesn’t mean that a one of a kind ancestor to the Panamera wasn’t built. Leave it to Motorheads to cut a Porsche 911 in half and slap it back together with an extra pair of seats and room to spare.

Panamera's Granddaddy

In 1968, the aforementioned Motorheads Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes decided that two seats were simply not enough for a 911. Their solution? Cut the car in half, design new body panels and sheet metal to accommodate the longer wheelbase, and then weld and rivet it all back together.

The result is a strange 911 that you may not even take a second look at unless you got close. Then you would see that this car is sporting suicide doors hinged at the rear and it is 21 inches longer than its 2 seated 911 brethren. It was perfectly drivable and, in my opinion, doesn’t look half bad:

Suicide doors FTW. And legroom!

I think the impressive part of this whole endeavor is the amount of room they were able to add to the original frame. 21 inches gave any rear seated passengers ample leg room. That’s a far cry from today’s 911s. They are technically four-seaters, but good luck getting anything larger than a small child or a bag of groceries back there. It makes one wonder why they even bother sticking seats into that cramped space.

Anyway, I thought this was a cool article. And I am very impressed with the final result. It’s amazing to think that this was done by only two guys in a garage. Motor heads come up with some crazy stuff don’t they?

Read the full article here. Thanks to Road and Track for tracking down one heck of a car!