Monday, May 26, 2008

1900 Lohner - Porsche electric drive. I love the design, looks like a prop from "the Time Machine"


For a gallery of 5 photos: http://www.supercars.net/Pics?viewPic=y&source=carGal&carID=3968&pgID=1&pID=695695

The Lohner-Porsche was first unveiled at the Paris World Trade Fair in 1900 and its inclusion in the Nov 2007 L.A. Auto Show was the first ever public display outside Europe.

Developed by Ferdinand Porsche for Austrian royal carriage manufacturer, Jacob Lohner & Co, with its futuristic , was the world's first advanced electric car and led to the production of the first gas-electric hybrid car. http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3456/Lohner-Porsche-Mixte-Voiturette.html

It was this vehicle, Ferdinand Porsche’s first major project completed at the time without layshafts and without a transmission, that gave the 24-year-old automobile genius his breakthrough as a pioneer in the history of the automobile.

On loan from the Technical Museum in Vienna, Austria, the Lohner-Porsche features a chassis and body made of wood and electric wheel hub motors ( one internal-pole motor on each of the front-wheel hubs). The vehicle has a top speed of around 28 – 36 mph with the motors achieving an output of 2.5/3.5 hp with short bursts of 7 hp. Power is drawn from a forty-four cell 80-volt lead battery which enables approximately three hours use. Overall weight 2,160 lb.