The 1971 EFP Electric Passenger Car
If our electric car technology would not have had so many
stops along the way, who knows where electric cars would fit in today’s USA marketplace. It was
the product of the Electronic Fuel Propulsion Company of Detroit (founded in
1966 by Robert Aronson), perhaps the only U.S. electric passenger car manufacturer
in 1971. The 1971 prototype was based on a AMC Hornet featuring a 144 volt
battery pack and a newly designed inverter that charged an accessory battery
off the propulsion batteries. It was a heavy car – 5500 pounds, on a platform
of an ICE car that in its normal configuration weighed only about 3000
pounds.
Consequently, vehicle handling could be challenging,
including braking. The Hornet had a range of more than fifty miles during a 328
mile test between Detroit and Chicago.
The 1971 version used a 20 hp DC traction motor bolted to a
Hornet clutch and three speed transmission. Above the motor were placed
angle0iron racks holding a dozen 6 volt EPF Tri-Polar Cobalt batteries. These
batteries had three times the internal connections of a typical motor vehicle
battery of the day, and plates made with a secret formula surrounded by acid that
circulated in an unconventional way. The
solid state controller was a modified
design taken from an English forklift truck, and progressed through three
stages.
What ever happened to this venture and the vehicles in
designed? If only this R&D project would have been sustained!
No comments:
Post a Comment