Deeply affected by the 1973 oil crisis, for the rest of the decade the United States embarked on a relentless search for solutions that would not only make cars more economical, but abandon fossil fuels altogether, and it was precisely in this context that the Renault 12 “Crossed” with NASA.
Marketed in the United States, the Gallic model was one of the models selected to be part of NASA’s ERDA project, a project in which the agency responsible for taking humans to the Moon a few years ago sought to explore the commercial viability of electric and hybrid models. .
To this end, the Renault 12 “North American” (easy to recognize thanks to its dual headlights and larger fenders) has been converted into a 100% electric model by EVA (Electric Vehicle Associates).
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The space in the box has been fully used to store the batteries.
Founded in 1974 in the US state of Ohio, this company is dedicated to converting models with combustion engines into electric cars, with the support of the US Department of Energy, which, as we told you, wants to know if electric cars have “legs to walk”.
or metro EVA
Without being officially developed by Renault, the 12 electrified car changed its name, becoming known as the EVA Metro. Equipped with 19 6-volt lead-acid batteries under the hood and in the trunk, the EVA Metro weighs 500 kg more than the Renault 12, and the scale weighs 1429 kg.
To move all this mass, I equipped EVA 12(Sorry, metro) with a 13-horsepower electric motor that allowed it to reach a modest top speed of 90 km/h and acceleration to 50 km/h in 12 seconds. The transmission was responsible for a three-speed automatic gearbox.
As for the autonomy, it mirrored the technology available at the time. On a full charge (it took about six hours on a 220-volt outlet), the EVA Metro was able to travel between 65 and 100 km.
Under the hood… more batteries! Just in time, lithium-ion batteries arrived.
And if you think that renting batteries for Renault electric cars is “boring”, you should know that the batteries of Renault 12 electric cars need to be added regularly distilled water as a maintenance measure.
Read also: Could the Renault 5 Turbo be inspired by the new 5th prototype?
the exams
Further evidence of the extraordinary development of electric vehicles in recent years is the EVA Metro’s reliability record in NASA tests (the results of which can Consult here).
Tested in 1975 and 1976 (with new and used engines and battery), the EVA Metro began to impress in the autonomy tests: at a constant speed of 40 km / h, it traveled 91 km, when the speed rose to 56 km / h its autonomy was 57 km and even with The speedometer fixed at 85 km / h was able to cover 45 km.
Some of the compounds were tested in the ERDA project tests. Next to the EVA Metro, we can see an electrified Renault Le Car (North American version of Renault 5).
Do not forget that all this was achieved before modern lithium-ion batteries and regenerative braking systems. However, in the area of reliability, things did not go so well.
In total, during the tests, it was necessary to change the EVA Metro engine four times. However, we could see that the old 6-volt lead-acid batteries would be able to withstand 45,000 kilometers, again a significant amount if we consider that in the 1970s.
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Despite the positive balance of tests, EVA Metro was not mass-produced. In total, only seven units have been produced (sold to individuals or companies or donated to universities) and only two are known. One in Canada and the other in the United States, having been restored.
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