Seen at Cars&Coffee today

Scirocco with an electric motor in the front and a VR6 in the back seat !!

Great use of the back seat.  I fit 5 in back seat in college - not comfortably or safely.

Whoa! That's awesome.

What C&C? I hadn't heard that any were happening again.

At first I was wondering how slow it was with that tiny motor, having driven a Jet Electrica 007. I like the hybrid.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

Whoa! That's awesome.

What C&C? I hadn't heard that any were happening again.

At Zingerman's in AA.  Third Saturday of the month, 7:30-9:00 AM.

Where are the batteries? With it being a hybrid they could do a smaller higher discharge pack for all the go without the range anxiety. 

Saw the electric motor and felt sad, then the VR6 made me happy again.

I curious how it operates since there are two transmissions. Does the clutch and shift linkage operate both transmissions at the same time? 

WillG80 said:

I curious how it operates since there are two transmissions. Does the clutch and shift linkage operate both transmissions at the same time? 

I suspect that the electric motor doesn't care that much, so connect the linkages together and actuate one clutch with the electric motor turning on/off as necessary.

The real concern is that those transaxles work off of oil sloshing around because the input shaft is turning.  The electric motor not turning because it doesn't idle could be an issue for longevity (unless they just leave it in gear and use it as a generator and single speed transaxle/power boost)

I've read there can be overspeeding issues if you try shifting an electric with the clutch. I've not driven a newer manual electric but the 1982 model I drove I was told DO NOT touch the throttle with the clutch in.

It's practically the new NSX--cool!

If there's a VR6 in the back seat, where did they put the batteries?

stuart in mn said:

If there's a VR6 in the back seat, where did they put the batteries?

Same question. Where the heck did the batteries go? Or is this just a "it's technically electric"?

It's probably more of a V6 powered car with an electric boost motor.  The battery pack would not need to be that big then.

So, probably a dumb question, but I haven't looked at the engine bay of one of these in at least 30 years...

Why not have the ICE in the original engine compartment & the more quiet electric motor in the passenger compartment?

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

So, probably a dumb question, but I haven't looked at the engine bay of one of these in at least 30 years...

Why not have the ICE in the original engine compartment & the more quiet electric motor in the passenger compartment?

Because that makes way too much sense.

Also, VR6s are kind of bulky, they require that you notch the chassis in a couple spots.  Much easier to just hack a giant hole in the back and fabricate a new suspension system.

I didn't speak with the owner so I have no idea where any batteries are located, aside from the visible Optima. He did tell my son that he can "harvest regen". That suggests that the electric motor trans must be in gear to drive the motor as a generator under deceleration. And that's about all I know about it. If I see it again I'll make a point of seeking out the owner and ask more questions. 

No working linkage on the front trans has me confused.

In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :

Electric motor.  No shifting. 

I'd assume there is no clutch and the trans is gutted except for one forward gear.

It would need to be engaged and looking at the linkage position, it's definitely in neutral. If it was internally locked there's no reason for the lever to even be bolted on as it gets removed to put it together. Still confused.

I would guess, based on the above comments, that it's not done.  I do see what look like two open terminals on the motor and no evidence of any high amp lines other than the ones going to the control box(?).

looking at some other installs (I am no expert), they have three wires running from the controller to the motor (which this has), and two wires from the control box to the battery pack, which are missing here.  You can see two open terminals on the control box (between the three) and also see a multi-pin connector that is open on the control box.

 I would guess the battery pack might just be mounted above the motor.  As mentioned it likely will not be that big.