Leading automotive engineering firm BorgWarner has converted an Ariel Nomad off-roader into a fully electric vehicle.
The one-off machine was produced as a showcase for electric powertrain technology developed by the US company and its partners. It swaps the 235bhp Honda-built 2.5-litre petrol engine usually found in the Nomad for an electric system that uses two motors to deliver a total of 268bhp.
The converted Nomad is rear-wheel drive, with each motor independently driving a rear wheel through two separate eDriveGear gear sets managed by torque vectoring. BorgWarner says the set-up offers “more power and durability”. The motors draw power from a liquid-cooled 350V 30kWh power pack.
BorgWarner says the machine’s extensive use of torque vectoring through the electric powertrain improves steering response, and allows for regenerative braking to extend range.
The British-built Nomad was chosen for the project in part because the open-top design makes it easy for BorgWarner’s team to easily install and remove components, and it is purely intended as a one-off showcase.
Kahan Yilmaz, BorgWarner’s tech boss, said the converted Nomad was a “high-voltage demonstration” that “gives us a fantastic tool to showcase our extensive capabilities, collaborate with industry partners and evaluate current and future technology at a system level”.
Ariel was not involved in the project, and is currently working on a fully electric machine of its own: a 1180bhp supercar.
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