1992 Volkswagen Cabriolet Electric

I’ve been looking at electric bolt-on/swap motors each and every year since the Prius first came out. While there isn’t a simple solution for my car (or anyone else’s, for that matter), I find it fascinating that the garage engineers of the world can do it- and sometimes even better than the pros themselves. Whether this is a hand-built Victorian home or a cardboard shanty is yet to be seen, but this electric VW Cabriolet may be worth an inspection or two. With the use of 16 deep cycle batteries (that’s 7,088 less than Tesla’s!), this Cabriolet has been transformed into a Battery-olet—although no information on its range is listed. Of course, 16 batteries is several more than the Former Gear had, and they made it out to get groceries at least. Further, with the batteries taking up the engine bay you may find it leaning a little to the right. But, more importantly, each of those batteries cost upwards of $100 a piece—and you won’t be getting any tax breaks for them.

While it may only be an oddity, $3,500 may be hard to pass up (as well as the chance to show Prius owners that their cars don’t have to look stupid). Just a few questions… which battery do I jump my car from and can I still push start it? Sadly, I believe both of the answers are “impossible” and there isn’t a big enough trunk to fit 1.5 miles of extension cord.