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What I know to this point:
The Spitfires if careful can be had for a relatively low price point and the GT6 are harder to come by but still out there. Parts are easy to find and at competitive pricing. So from the vehicle donor perspective the Triumph spit and GT6 are good cost effective options. Now we have to factor in customization costs for the Smart wheels, new aerodynamic body design, T5 transmission, new diesel engine, hybrid components, hybrid integration design and fabrication for the diesel engine power plant and transmission.
So far I have determined that a T5 transmission newly rebuilt by a shop goes for under $1,000. The materials for the aerodynamic body design will cost roughly $1,200. New Diesel engines costs under $2,000 delivered if you are willing to go the surplus route. However the costs can be well over $2,000 and even above $3,000 if you are picky with your diesel engine selection. For example one can usually find Yanmar and Kubota engines for under $2,000 however if you want a Lombardini or Kohler or even a Perkins good luck finding it under $3,000!
All of these engines will do the job so why be picky well for instance Yanmar sized engines run around 185lbs for one suitable for Tigon. While a comparably sized Caterpillar model only weighs 125lbs. Sixty pounds of weight loss with one simple component selection decision is hard to ignore. So is the price premium worth it for the Cat diesel engine model? If you are building a car only for you and money and time are not an issue than yes but if you are trying to also build for others in mind than maybe not so much it just depends really. Most likely I will initially go with the Yanmar despite the weight penalty to keep costs down.
The cost of the Hybrid components are still unknown to this point at least with the design architecture I have in mind for Tigon. If I wanted to go with a belt system like one you would find on a GM E-Assist vehicle then costs would be under $2,000. This is considered a mild system with small battery pack and not plug in capable. Now while this is an option it is not my first choice. I want my architecture to more mirror the Honda IMA system except offer more manual control and customization with plug in capability. I am thinking off the top of my head this could easily be in the $5K ballpark or almost half the total $13K budget. If the cost does turn out to be in this range than the initial $13K budget will be impossible to achieve most likely. The budget would than be more in the $16K ballpark which still is not bad considering what you have there!
Once I have all the hybrid component sourcing and integration costs determined then a more realistic cost can be figured out. I expect with in a few weeks to have hard numbers on the missing hybrid data which will be a big step for Tigon. I am currently working with a hybrid automotive manufacturer on the hybrid design and I can say we are getting very close to a final design and cost break down. So stay tuned as numbers as well as component pics will be available shortly.
GH..
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