Adrian wrote:
The Natural Philosopher gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

And the answer to how big that is, is well under half a tonne for the
smaller one.

...or about half the weight of the rest of the car...

Similar to the power train on an IC car.

Rubbish. Rover's K-series weighs about 130kg with transmission.

And radiator? and starter motor? and exhaust system? and fuel pump, and
mountings for all those, and ancillary pipework?


Add 50kg
for fuel, and you have a complete powertrain with a 300 mile range (and
five minutes recharge for the next 300 miles) for 40% of that "half a
ton".

And costs ten times as much per mile on fuel to run.

Current lipo technology is about 185Wh per kilogram.

http://www.maxamps.com/Lipo-10000-Cell.htm


That puts a 50Kw pack at 270kg.


The powertrain on a 2cv - engine and gearbox - is light enough to be
carried by two people. With 25 litres of fuel, it'll give a four-seater
car weighing half a ton _complete_ a range of 200+ miles.

pretty much the same as an electric would be, then.