Solectria Sunrise to rise again
 

(written March 07)

Those of you not following the EVDL may be interested to know that one of the Elder Statesmen of the list, Lee Hart and several other members purchased a Sunrise body and are in the process of developing a kit car from it.

http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/ar...ia_sunrise.jpg


The original 4-passenger Sunrise is known in EV circles as having one of the longest ranges on a single charge of any EV.

The car's aerodynamics are superb - though nobody seems to have an exact figure, it's probably in the same league as the EV1 (Cd of 0.19).

Originally, it was a fully composite monocoque, front-wheel drive, AC powered vehicle using some parts from the Geo Metro (suspension, brakes, some interior parts, windshield).

In its next iteration, it will be rear wheel drive, using direct DC into the differential, with driveline & suspension parts from Ford RWD production cars (Mustang II, Cougar/Thunderbird). The body will be fully fiberglass (fullly smooth bottom, like the original), with suspension & drive components on metal subframes.

The idea is to roll out availability in stages: initially just the body and a manual with a suggested parts list. Then, progressively, kits with more and more components already sourced, included & assembled. The aim is to sell kits at various price points and stages of assembly that will permit buyers of various levels of ability to complete their vehicles. (Sort of like the BugE example.)

I'd like to be able to point you to the thread on this topic in the EVDL Yahoo archive, but the archive "owner" apparently had a hissy fit and took it offline last week. Probably permanently. There's a "daily digest" version of the archive at Yahoo - but good luck searching it and trying to follow a thread in any kind of timely way.

There's also an original Sunrise in the EV Album: http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/655.html

And now I'm going to work on the ForkenSwift. No more posts this afternoon!

Hmm, I suppose the direct DC to the differential is a cost-saving measure. It would seem an AC would be much more suited to the task, what with it's much higher RPM range. And mustang rear suspension bits?? Yeah they're cheap, but those are gonna tip the scales something awful. Miatas are cheap too, and they even have an independent rear suspension.
Oh well, it's a cool idea and I'm glad that they're pursuing it. It's way easier to critique and tear an idea/project apart than to build it up from scratch.

The direct drive approach is an efficiency measure as well.

And the plan is to make the vehicle adaptable. They aren't ruling out AC versions - just working from the assumption that fewer people will shell out for an AC system when they can source suitable DC motors & controllers for much less.

The Miata rear end is a good idea.

My concern about the used components is: you're building a car based on parts that are being recycled as we speak. There are fewer parts available for the car now than when I started typing this reply :)

Yeah, but there are just SO MANY of those good old used parts out there. Heck, there is a Locost 7 kit car that is based off of a 2.8L carbureted Chevy S-10. There were so many of them produced (same for the T-bird and 'Stang) that the relatively small pool of Solectria converters will never come close to snapping them all up.

I wonder if they had to change the body much to use the 'Stang rear axle. Surely it has a wider track than the Metro-based original had.

I see we're approaching this from different viewpoints: you, in rust-free Cali. Me, in salt-belt Ontario. :p

The Sunrise EV kit car project soldiers on. They've put up a simple web site outlining their progress and goals:

http://www.sunrise-ev.com/

http://www.sunrise-ev.com/photos/RFBodyAsRcvd1006.png

I was on the EVDL from 95-01 and if anyone could pull this project off, it is Lee Hart. I have had many conversations with him on AC systems. He has been working on E.V.'s for decades.

Agreed.

As it is, the project is pretty much volunteer run at this point. There's a paypal address on their web site for prospective customers or supporters to contribute. I've sent a few pesos just because I think it's a neat idea - and with Lee at the helm, I don't think the money will be wasted.

Can it be? The electric version of the Model-T, although in a kit form?

I've really been looking forward to someone, ANYONE to get a real vehicle for the anyman going. The closest I have seen so far is the Bug-E kit.

Hopefully, we can have Tesla on the top, and our poor-man electric conversions on the bottom, both driving interest in electrics until we reach critical mass for REAL EV production for the avergage Joe.

Looks like this is really a step in the right direction.

I look forward to hearing more about it.

Subscribed:

I've never heard of it; but looks cool.

What were the aprox. production dates on it the "first time around"?