My Electric Starion EV, before conversion.
Yes it’s a Mitsubishi Starion – I love these cars – they perform so much better than many new cars on the market today. I chose the Starion for a number of reasons…
- As a challenge to match performance of the original turbo engine.
- Parts are becoming increasingly rare.
- The car is now a classic and much sought-after; good condition Starions are rare because owners thrashed them, put stupid blow-off valves on them, and so on.
- It’s a good mid-sized car with a body-size that is equal to many cars on the market; which means it’s a good trial car for a production sports electric vehicle without going to the expense of a Tesla Roadster.
Some info on the Starion history can be found here: http://autospeed.com/cms/A_0588/article.html
I told a friend who was a Starion enthusiast. He said “Whaaaaat?” and argued over the turbo being better, no grunt from the electric motor when taking off at the lights at high speed, and so on. In actual fact, I hope to achieve the same performance and better take off at traffic lights.
Finding the right Starion in Australia was difficult. Every car I came across had a multitude of problems but I found one on the Trading Post that showed promise.
My Starion EV, before conversion.
Took a while to arrive as it was shipped from Adelaide to here in Sydney.
Oops, a couple of rust holes and the steering wheel fabric is starting to tear. Much to do before I even contemplate ripping the guts out of the engine.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome!!
What a sensational project, I am looking forward to more updates and watching it on the road!
Care to visit us at austarion.com?
This will create a lot of interest.
Alspos
Good to see what you are doing here Carmel. I’ve just started chewing over the idea of an electric conversion on one of the machines languishing in my yard right now. While I’m sure converting my 500hp R33 GTR would create some controversy I’m not done with that yet.
My history is closely tied with IC engines and motorsport. Building my own engines has always been very satisfying, especially the 700hp hybrid 3.0l RB with a GTR RB26 head in my R33 GTS25t racecar which is the latest in a long history of swinging spanners and working as a professional Mechanical Engineer.
So the move to electrics will be a great learning experience for me. I’m conducting several projects in my retirement but this could be the most positive in terms of financial and environmental outcome.
Best of luck and I look forward to the progress you make.