Hybrid or EV GR 86 by 2025?

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i am somewhat curious how they're going to work ev equipment into existing ICE vehicles. it's not like there's a ton of extra room in anything that they can just plop the batteries under the seat and call it a day.

A lot of manufactures have been putting small batteries for hybrids under the trunk floor.

Honda Fit(.86kwh), BMW 330e 12kwh come to mind.

The fit’s battery is only 43kg, the system seems very sensible from a mass perspective. It’s a 30hp boost for <200lbs over the ICE fit: https://www.marklines.com/en/report_all/rep1235_201312

[soundman98]

i didn't say it wasn't possible, just curious how they go about in the end.

i suspect in the 86's case, they're going to shrink the gas tank some, and split a pack across the top of it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i believe it. that's why i stretched and got the vehicles i want beforehand.

though i am somewhat curious how they're going to work ev equipment into existing ICE vehicles. it's not like there's a ton of extra room in anything that they can just plop the batteries under the seat and call it a day.

Both Subaru and Toyota made a big deal about how their newest platforms are completely adaptable for EVs. I don’t follow any others but no doubt they are headed down the same road.
They have been working on this for many years and new tech rolls out almost monthly.
The naysayers call scream about all the hurdles but the companies are push past them quickly.

[mazeroni]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i didn't say it wasn't possible, just curious how they go about in the end.

i suspect in the 86's case, they're going to shrink the gas tank some, and split a pack across the top of it.

Maybe eliminate the rear seats? Certainly having rear seats can be a selling point for some people, but how many would also be willing to forgo them for the added power? Given the low volume of the car already, I suspect you wouldn't be losing out on that many sales. You would also be keeping the weight low and between the axles.

Based on this thread you would also cut around 21 pounds by removing the seats.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7881

[soundman98]

the car also fits a different insurance bracket when it's a 4-seater

[Yoshoobaroo]

Removing rear seats doesn’t make room for batteries. They’re not gonna put batteries on top of the fuel tank.

I think what’s going to happen is that for 2025 the platform is going to get a mild hybrid update, probably with a very small battery like the fit hybrid, <1kwh.
This way it will conform to the rule of ‘everything needs to be a hybrid’ but only just, and it will get a 20 to 40 hp bump with a weight increase on the order of 100 to 200lbs. May be less if they can book some more weight savings, but probably unlikely.

I suspect the Miata will be looking at a very similar path forward.

[Blighty]

A PHEV (plugin hybrid) with the batteries under the rear seats would be a neat 86.

But its still fairly heavy and expensive, just not quite as much as a full EV.

Full hybrid design is a bit cheaper and lighter, with still providing a very slight amount of EV only use.

A mild hybrid is potentially the pick of the bunch for affordability, being the lightest and least expensive. However it has the least amount of battery performance - but perhaps enough to make the drive more enjoyable without sucking the life out of the chassis with weight gain.

[timurrrr]

I don't think making such a low-volume car into a hybrid or even an EV makes sense anytime soon.

It would certainly require a lot of R&D, but also might make the car too expensive, and at the same time not as desirable by gearheads they clearly try to cater to with the 2nd gen (based on their marketing pitches, at least).
I think they can achieve great "total emissions across all models" numbers while keeping BRZ/GR 86 plain-ICE.

In fact I wish this exact strategy was a viable options for car manufactures to keep ICEs alive in low-volume "enthusiast" cars, but many governments have already decided to just outright ban ICEs. They also keep lying to everybody (including themselves) that EV cars are zero emissions.
An ICE car with low yearly mileage can certainly generate less emissions than an EV of an Uber driver, especially if you factor in the environmental impact of production and end-of-life recycling.