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Hmm, I paid about that much for an Insight with 45kmi and less engine compartment damage. It's probably not a great buy.
I believe you could part it out and get your money back, plus get a few cool parts for yourself. That engine would go really well in a Civic, but seperating the hybrid components from the engine isn't trivial. The IMA motor behaves as flywheel and alternator, you'll have NVH issues with the unbalanced 3-cylinder without it, and I believe IMA is worth having just for idle stop.
As for an electric car, I believe the answer to the question posed in the thread title is "no". The stock battery pack is small: 144V * 6Ah, and it tends not to outlive the vehicle. The electric motor is also not great for an EV. It's small, and it's cooled by thermal conduction into the tranny and engine block. It's probably not suitable for continuous operation. I'm pretty sure you'd have to heavily modify or discard the IMA ECU, too. When the IMA system smells trouble, it illuminates the Check Engine Light and shuts off the IMA system.
If you really want an Insight-based NEV, strip out and sell everything upstream of the transmission, including the IMA battery pack and controller. That frees up space in the engine compartment for your motor, and space in the back for your batteries. The Insight has a 365lb payload capacity, which rises to 431lb on an empty fuel tank. That has to carry your driver, passenger, cargo, and batteries. An Insight EV cries for lithium.
Anyway, if anyone here buys and parts out this wreck, I'd like the wheels to mount my snow tires on (bidding war, Wonderboy?), the washer fluid bottle, and a few cells out of the IMA pack.
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