We wanted to let you guys know that we are currently developing a solar-electric Pinzgauer. Right now, Hannes and Francois Duez (of AVS, France, AKA tech mastermind behind the electric Pinz) are burning the midnight oil to start testing the first prototype as soon as possible. Once the base vehicle is electrified and fully kitted out, we will do a major overland test expedition. Imagine the kind of autonomy you could achieve with a solar-powered 4x4 or 6x6 (in our case), away from roads and electricity grids. That's the dream we are chasing. Is it possible? Only one way to find out
You may be interested in the specs of our solar system: We have developed a rig that makes a massive 13Kw solar system portable and flexibly deployable when you are parked, but fits into the Pinz weight and size wise when rolling. Our ambition and hence the system size is to recharge the 85KWh battery pack in one single (sunny) day.
There's just over 1 Kw permanently exposed (roof and one side) for a nice trickle charge and auxiliary power, and ca. 12Kw fold-out when you set up camp. Assembling this design, testing and integrating it with other charging/BMS software is the challenge we embark on right now. The panels arrived safely last week, which is a big step in the right direction.
Of course, travelling on sunshine will mean embracing a new kind of travel and really finding out the meaning behind the old saying "the journey is the reward". We'll need to plan carefully and select our camp sites accordingly, as we'll need natural "real estate" that can accommodate our chunky solar plant.
Last but not least, in case you are into automotive history: we just posted an interview with one of the "fathers" of the Haflinger and Pinzgauer - Dr. Rudolf, who was at Steyr-Puch 1955-1987 and was key to the development of both of these legends, as well as the G. (In fact, one of the first drawings of the Haflinger was his!) Yes, the gentlemen is still alive and kicking at 92, and lives not far from us here in the home of Steyr-Puch in Austria.) Spoiler alert: he is pro EVs
You can check out the interview here: https://projectecarus.com/blog/meeting-mr-pinzgauer
I'm attaching pics of the test vehicle and some working designs and will keep this thread updated as progress continues. For more regular updates, you can check out our website at www.projectecarus.com and/or subscribe to our newsletter here: https://projectecarus.com/signup.
That's it for now, more to come. Please let us know what you think of Project Ecarus.
All the best,
Lisa & Hannes
PS: Please note that there are two vehicles on the pics – there's ECARUS, our yellow 712 (6x6), and there is a 710 (4x4), the test vehicle, used to configure the electric motor, battery and management system. This helps us make sure the kit will work seamlessly as a "plug and play" system in other Pinzis and also allows us to work on ECARUS' expedition shelter and foldable solar system while Francois works on the electric drive.
