Morgan has teamed up with electric motor specialist Zytek and other high-tech British companies to produce two electric concept cars to be revealed in early 2012.
The projects, named Morgan +E, will be based around the Worcestershire firm’s Aero Supersport aluminium chassis, but the 4.8-litre BMW V8 engine will be replaced with a derivative of Zytek’s high power-density electric motor.
See pics of the Morgan Aero Supersport
The concepts will feature a standard manual gearbox, although the ’box won’t be used conventionally. The likelihood is that gears one, three and five may be adopted to accommodate the electric drivetrain’s wide torque band. Gears two and four could be taken out of the equation completely.
Power will come from Li-ion batteries mounted into the aluminium chassis, which will be crafted by Radshape.
Morgan hopes that the collaboration will make this a realistic concept that could lead to further developments if demand and other factors prove favorable.
Zytek currently produces its 94bhp, 221lb ft electric powertrain for various vehicles, including the Smart ED.
Morgan’s project is being partially funded by a £100,000 grant from CENEX, a company that runs research and design projects and wants to increase market opportunities for zero-emission transport.
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