Spork3245

It's not an electric car though, it's a hybrid. Would the combined power change when the battery runs out of charge and begins running off the alternator? I'm honestly asking as I don't have much personal experience with hybrids. I'm fairly sure the BMW i8 maintains the same performance after the battery is out of charge and begins running off the alt alongside the engine, though.

dochawk

My understanding is that on most (all?) hybrids, power is applied by the electric motor, what changes is whether it draws juice from the battery or engine. Setting up for direct drive by the gas engine is a far more complicated system, needing a transmission.

Interesting will be when somebody actually manages to build a motor into a wheel and hub. A simple design is easy, but still no practical ones (although every year or two, someone announces they've cracked the problem).

For performance, a hybrid can simultaneously draw from the battery and engine.

hawk