Dodge EV punks Challenger in a little unsanctioned drag racing
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Lou Rhodes, straight-talking guru of electric vehicles for Chrysler, brought the company’s three phase-one EV prototypes to the Rose Bowl on Friday for a little PR face time. Much of what is known about these vehicles is already known. They are retrofitted production cars, a Jeep Wrangler four-door and a Chrysler Town & Country minivan — both range-extended EVs with small gas generators to charge the batteries and drive the electric motors — and a fully electric version of the Lotus Europa, spelled ‘Dodge EV’ (right).
Rhodes said Chrysler will put 100 EV and range-extended prototypes on the road next year for engineering and consumer analysis. The thinking is that the company will use prismatic lithium-ion battery packs of 1.1 kWh capacity, arrayed in larger battery packs that could be shaped to fit in a variety of vehicles. Rhodes said Chrysler is working with ‘all the battery suppliers,’ and is nowhere near settling on a supplier or chemistry. The range-extended EVs use a two-cylinder, 1-liter gas generator to charge the batteries.
Meanwhile, Chrysler and General Electric are working on a Department of Energy program for advanced energy-storage systems. One promising direction: dual-battery technology, with one set optimized for peak power delivery — as required during acceleration — and another set optimized for energy storage to improve range. For more on Chrysler’s EV program, go here.
As for Chrysler’s current financial woes, Rhodes said: ‘There has always been product that has turned Chrysler around in the past. We believe this is some of the product that will do it for the company in the future.’
And with the messy business of business out of the way, it was time for some illicit fun. Rhodes jumped into the Dodge EV — powered by a 268-hp electric motor and a 26 kWh Li-ion battery — and lined it up against a Dodge Challenger 6.1 Hemi that was oh-so-conveniently nearby. An impromptu drag strip was arranged in the Rose Bowl parking lot and Rhodes dropped the hammer. Watch what happened.
You’ll note that, on the first run, the 480 pound-feet of electric torque instantaneously available to the Dodge EV leaves the Challenger for dead at the line, and the electric car hums to victory at the 800-foot line. On the second pass, the Challenger driver gets a better hole shot but seems to let up at the finish.
No matter the car, no matter the company, no matter the technology, it’s never a good idea to show up the boss.
—Dan Neil