Kreisel Electric Porsche 910 Lights Up German Car Show

The Kreisel Brothers are at it again. After converting a Mercedes G Class to electric power for fellow Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger, the brothers, who call themselves “E-Mobility Maniacs,” went to a classic car show in Essen, Germany recently and brought along an electric Porsche 910. The car is a replica of the one that Steve McQueen drove in Le Mans, the iconic 1971 movie about motor racing that turned the annual 24 hour endurance race outside a sleepy little town in the French countryside into an international media spectacle.

The brothers operate out of a three stall garage in their hometown of Freistadt, Austria, where they specialize in converting classic cars to electric power along with motorcycles, airplanes and anything else that moves.

They also claim to have invented a better lithium ion battery, one that weighs significantly less than conventional batteries. For instance, the battery in a Tesla Model S weighs 16 pounds per kilowatt-hour. The Kreisel battery weighs 9 pounds per kilowatt-hour. That allowed them to convert a Porsche 911 to electric power while adding just over 100 pounds to its total weight.

The project involved fitting the Porsche 910 with components needed to transform it into an electric car. It uses an electric motor with 490 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque — enough to hustle it to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds and give it a top speed of 186 miles per hour.  It has a two speed transmission designed and fabricated by the brothers. Range is said to be 215 miles, a figure the Kreisels say is “realistic,” not an EPA derived statistic. Best of all, it is full road worthy.

The electric Porsche has some other goodies it can boast about. It has fast charging capability and when paired with a home solar installation, it can act as a battery and store energy to feed back into the house. The Kreisels technical prowess has attracted the attention of some of the world’s largest automakers. Volkswagen has visited Freistadt to learn more about how the brothers make their lightweight batteries. Expect to hear more about the Kreisels in the very near future.

Source: iTech Post