Move over, Musk: Kalashnikov unveils ‘electric supercar’
Yahoo News reports Russian arms maker Kalashnikov on Thursday presented its new electric car inspired by a rare 1970s model brick, saying the new technology will rival Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The Kalashnikov brand, best known for the AK-47 assault gun, presented the decidedly retro-looking pale blue prototype, the CV-1, at a defense expo outside Moscow.
The look was inspired by a Soviet hatchback model developed in the 1970s called “Izh-Kombi,” a statement on the Kalashnikov website said.
Holding company Kalashnikov Concern said it has developed some cutting-edge elements for the “electric supercar”, including a “revolutionary” inverter. The vehicle can travel 350 kilometres on one charge.
“We are developing our own concept of an electric supercar, which is based on several original systems developed by the concern,” the firm said.
“This technology will let us stand in the ranks of global electric car producers such as Tesla and be their competitor,” RIA-Novosti further quoted the Kalashnikov press-service as saying.
“We were inspired by the experience of global market leaders in developing our concept.”
Sweet grocery-getter brought to you by the folks who unleashed Chernobyl on an unsuspecting world. Whatever could go wrong? Even better, AMC from the ’70s called, wants to talk merger with Pacer, Gremlin line.
Category: WTF?
Reminds me a little of the 1980’s Lada my uncle drove.
Well, if its a good and dependable as the AK-47…it should be a dandy!!
I just wish they could have made it look a little less like a 1960 Studebaker Lark. They should have teamed with Mikoyan-Gurevich to do the aerodynamics package. Even the Russians like sleek stuff.
It’s electric? Phuk that. My household has 2 cars, an SUV, and a truck. The cars are Stang GT 5.0 8 cyl (420), a V8 F150, a V6 SUV, and my get-a-round and I-don’t-care, inline 4 cyl Ford sedan. I do have one electric vehicle. It’s a Stuart tank (WW II era) about 2 1/2′ long. Battery powered. Remote. Very cool.
Planet killer.
Local radio show host asks for people’s cylinder counts. The more cylinders you own, the more you are man.
I think I’m at 25. If I remember right, your age and cylinder count should match. I wish I were still 25. 🙁
Only need 6. 300 cubic inches of 6. Pulls like a diesel, lasts longer than you do.
Cylinder count?
Includes revolvers?
God damn right it includes revolvers.
I truly believe we need to develop and can develop renewable green energy sources to power our transportation. I understand powerful big combustion engines are fun but there were only so many dead dinosaurs, lol. I do not believe the car above is the answer. Does it come with pop out machine guns?
“I truly believe we need to develop and can develop renewable green energy sources to power our transportation.” If there was serious money it, it would all ready be done. But, like cancer research, the big money is in the looking, not the finding.
First thing comes to mind is the Iranian fighter jet from the other day.
I have no electric vehicles and do not want one because I have no way to charge one up.
And that thing is just ugly. I’ve seen better lines at the grocery store.
The problem with electrics is the cost of the batteries..I have heard as high as 10,000.00!
Needs fender skirts
How about a tuck and roll job?
Black cherry candy-apple over gold flake base…..and FLAMES
Strange coachwork. It’s almost like a ’70 Chevy pickup got naughty with a Volvo 240.
Bingo. The grill from the pickup.
Spoilers…one on front, one on the roof and really big one on the back… and some kind of humongous muffler, like chromed garbage can…:)
Oh yeah and don’t forget the autoloader for the 8 track player
Would be cool to buy one…under 10 grand new.
It’s a fookin’ dressed-up Trabant.
I know a guy that RESTORED and imported a Trabant. And you wonder why I don’t consider this group that odd.
Obviously, you pay extra for that Trabby world-class quality control…
MAZEL TOV to Hans und Fritz there in showing us the wonderful quality control of socialist-made autos. East Germany produced the Trabant while West Germany had to make do with building VW’s, Porsches, Audis, Mercedes and Beemers!
Couldn’t build that thing without a rubber hammer LOL
Why would it need a revolutionary inverter? AC Motors? Color me skeptical, comrades.
Pulsed DC motor/generator.
The back emf between pulses is captured and recycled to the inverter.
Or some crazy “lossless” whirly gig dream.
Variable Frequency Drive. Takes DC and “chops” it into a pulse width modulated signal that acts like AC. The reason that DC motors lasted so long in industrial applications is that until VFDs came along, AC induction motor speed was a function of the supply frequency. In other words, a 4 pole induction motor would always run at a little less than 1800 rpm unless you overloaded it. With a VFD, you can speed up and slow down a motor by varying the frequency (pulse width). The other thing you can do is dynamic braking which can be used to charge the batteries while slowing the vehicle down. You basically use the traction motors as a generator and either dissipate the energy as heat through resistors or rectify it back into DC and charge the batteries.
Good stuff! Amazingly I actually understand it!
Thanks Stranger and Lima. I did not know that. The problem I have with these schemes is: Fossil fuels used to generate AC electric -> transformed into DC (battery storage) -> inverted to pulse DC. And the milenials rejoice because it is “green” and “efficient”. Law of conservation of energy notwithstanding.
Or how about windmills?
Generate DC, jack it up to high voltage DC with a DC to DC converter, run it through an inverter to come up with AC which is then put on the grid.
Add up the losses and the scam shows itself.
And it is dirty AC, rich in harmonics and difficult to maintain sync with the grid. Tight specs have been loosened recently to allow “wind” to come on line. The physics don’t lie.
The financials don’t lie but the liberals know better and that is why we have windmills.
Don’t get me started on wind and solar….like you said, it’s dirty power. Hell, I hated uninterruptible power supplies for the same reason. Harmonics and power quality issues for the rest of the facility. Also, VFDs caused issues when retrofitting existing equipment. The customer would replace the motor starter with a VFD but still keep the old motor. The motor winding insulation couldn’t withstand the voltage spikes from the VFD and end up burning up from a turn to turn short. New motors are specified as inverter duty with winding insulation that can withstand the voltage spikes from pulsed DC.
VFD is also used in the new mini split air conditioners for the compressor. The inside unit uses a pulsed DC fan motor.
The whole thing is an RFI generator and if you have a ham radio operator for a neighbor things will not go well.
Windmills have killed more birds than DDT and continue to do so, but since they make moonbats feel good, we’re stuck with them.
It is a pity that moobats do not fly around windmills.
Would -that- not be -epic- funny!
WHAP! ….. thud…
Looks like something that Dave would be driving, while the Soviet is cruising around town in a Maserati…
I want one.
It would be cool to have…..in the same way as it’s cool to get one of those defective coins that the mint sells as collector’s items.
You know, if you put a pump on the roof, it would easily be mistaken for a soap dispenser.
Does it make a distinctive sound like another Kalashnikov product?
An Electric Yugo?
That is some impressive Ruskie automotive technology there. This beautiful design mimics some the gorgeous looking cars made in the USSR that I saw on the streets of East Berlin in 1969. Although, they were pretty few and far between, like everything on the street with four wheels and an engine. There were no rush hour traffic jams back in those hoary days of the communist utopia.
I see the car is missing the front mounted chain saw bayonet. (It’s an assault vehicle)
….
Krash-nikov!
Reminds me of my 1966 Rambler Ambassador. Same shade of blue, also. Loved that car.
LOVED AW1 Ed’s comparison to the 1970 model brick. I almost choked.