Five Things: models we want to go electric
Monday, 31 May 2021
Electrification is coming, one way or the other. We’ve already seen a few key players in the automotive game introduce their volt-sucking wares, while others are yet to join the fray. Most recently, Ford revealed the all-electric F-150 Lightning, so we thought about a few other popular badges that we’d love to see go fully electric.
Ford Mustang
Rumour has it, Ford is already working a hybrid Mustang to debut with the next-gen pony car around 2023. If that comes true, it isn’t a big jump to full battery power, especially considering the Mustang Mach-E already exists.
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Of course, outputs would have to be tweaked for the proper Mustang, as the current rear-drive Mach-E tops out at 216kW/430Nm. Should Ford consider it appropriate to drop an electric motor on the front axle too, power for the electric sports car could break the 400kW mark.
We know Ford can do it, because it managed to put no fewer than seven motors on the Mach-E 1400 prototype, and that produces a full megawatt of power.
Mazda MX-5
The whole idea behind Mazda's MX-5 is to meld driver and car together as much as possible. They call it ‘jinbai ittai’, which translates to ‘horse and rider as one’.
Slotting in some batteries and a motor on the rear axle seems like a gimme, because while the current 2.0-litre inline four produces a decent amount of power, it’s not exactly an epic aural experience.
It’s easy to get power out of electric motors so bringing an MX-5 EV up to the 150kW-ish mark wouldn’t be too hard. The weight of the batteries might prove a challenge, but not an insurmountable one.
Toyota Hilux
There’s a good reason modern utes are predominantly diesel powered – torque. Most diesel utes produce around 400Nm of torque, and a few touch 500Nm. That’s commendable for diesel but pretty standard for electric, and electric motors produce all of their torque instantly. No waiting for turbos or transmissions to sort their stuff out, just immediate shove.
Factor in Toyota’s experience with electrical gubbins, and the fact that it has an all-electric SUV waiting in the wings for a full debut, and it seems like an ideal manufacturer to make an electric ute. Though, if we’re honest, all the major ute-makers will do it eventually. And that’s a good thing.
Rolls-Royce Phantom
Every Rolls-Royce vehicle should be electric. I would end this section here, but I have word space to fill.
Prerequisites for a Rolls are silence, effortless power, and smooth operation. All of those are checked by electricity.
It was interesting to say the least when the British brand revealed the current Phantom, which has dragged the V12 engine into another generation along with a new platform. According to Rolls-Royce, the architecture was designed to “accommodate a range of different power and drivetrain layouts” which implies it is at least considering electrification for the future, but no official word of an EV Roller has come yet.
Honda Fireblade
We already have electric bikes around (well, not so much in New Zealand) and some are seriously quick. But they’re still niche and, as such, expensive.
Consider the Lightning LS-218, an electric superbike that will hit 100km/h in 2.2 seconds. That’s mighty impressive but the thing starts at NZ$54,281 and, not to put down Lightning or anything, but it’s a new, as-yet-unproven name in the market.
If, say, Honda were to build something similar, it might not hit the same epic performance metrics but, given Honda’s ability to produce high-quality machinery and price it reasonably, a fully electric Fireblade could be the ticket for superbike riders to join the electric crowd.