We need to talk about electric powertrains
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most polarising subjects in motor vehicle engineering, whether it be automotive or motorsport, is electric powertrains. I’ve never seen a subject promote such extreme reactions. On one hand you have utopian optimists who contend that battery-powered electric propulsion will eat internal combustion engines alive. Then you have the other extreme who contend that electric propulsion is nothing more than a smoke screen and this is a false dawn.
It’s become such a divisive issue that it has actually turned into a political football in the current Australian Federal election.
The purpose of this article is to drill down into what is the current state of play with electric powertrains. We’ll present the good, the bad and the ugly on the matter. Given how divisive this issue is, the goal of this article is to give you the facts, good and bad, so you can make informed decisions. Unfortunately this is something that has been sadly absent in general discussions about electric vehicles.
Firstly, before we begin it might be wise for me to lay my cards on the table. I’ve written before on a number of occasions on electric powertrains. Initially laying out the basics, and then exploring their use in categories such as GT3 and Time Attack. Where this comes from is the development of the ChassisSim Electric Powertrain module. This has been used in electric series such as Formula E, and some other projects coming down the pipeline that I have to remain tight lipped on.
Flying high
In addition to this, for the last 20 years, day in day out, I have been flying high performance electric-powered pylon racers and extreme aerobatic aircraft. I started off with NiCad / brushed motor-powered gliders that could barely cope with 20km/h winds 20
