Hybrid Hot Rod 2.0 - The Pria Ghia
 

I brought a 1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia home to be joined with a 2004 Prius. I’ll do my best to document the journey. Coming soon... The Pria Ghia https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-h...pria-ghia.jpeg

Sounds like a fun project. Looking forward to updates.

Subscribed :)
All still well with the Prius truck? No news for almost 4 months?

Priuck is doing great. Drive it everyday weather permitting. Drove to a show in Toledo
(3.5 hour drive) this summer. Rained most of the way home. Realized how much the old truck leaks. Been working on weather proofing since then. Also had a huge speaker in it to mimic big engine sounds. Fooled a lot a people and got a lot of laughs. Even helped a friend move his couch last weekend. Good old/new truck. Didn’t think I’d do another build, but this Ghia fell in my lap. We’ll see how far the rabbit hole goes.

Yikes, I hope you don't intend to make it front-engined. It would need a raised hoodline like a New Beetle. Compare the cowl height.

Compare the weight and power of the two drivetrains. My own perpetually stalled conversion is a Highlander/LX400h rear axle into a 1958 Beetle. As a pure electric. The single-speed 68hp performance should equal the stock drivetrain and weight.

So I hope you put it in back. For inspiration I suggest the Toyota Alessandro Volta.

I don’t know if the 54 hp (assuming it is a type 34 with the latest engine, otherwise it is even less) is enough to move that Prius shell around? :D

I think you're onto something. This is the oldest entry on my album of Photochops, from 2013.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...7-12-29-57.png

VW engine in FWD with a Type III axial [secondary] cooling fan with an eleven blade Porsche [primary] fan running at crankshaft speed. My calculation was that with the weight savings and improved aerodynamics, the performance would be no worse than the VW platform, maybe not as good as the stock Prius (a testable hypothesis).

I support this approach. I believe it involves mating a Superbeetle transaxle with Golf driveshafts. Plus it conserves that Ghia bodywork. Plus you could make the Prius an hybrid again with a Buick altermotor.

Nice job, Subscribed! :{)

It will be a front engine front wheel drive. Basically it’s going to be the stock Prius drive train shortened 11”. I’ve been studying blueprints, running the tape measure and believe it can be done. We’ll see as the project unfolds.

:turtle: