Last year, Swindon Powertrain revealed its plans to introduce a crate electric motor that would allow niche manufacturers, OEMs and hobbyists to electrify their vehicles using existing drivetrains. After a few months, the company has now announced the availability of its High Power Density (HPD) EV system, with deliveries set to begin in August.
The asking price is 6,400 British pounds (RM34,190) including VAT and that gets you an electric motor rated at 107 hp and 136 Nm of torque, a single-speed transmission with a choice of two ratios, and a differential. For an additional cost, the company also offers a cooling pump, inverters, output shafts and a limited slip differential.
According to the company, the HPD’s specifications have been refined since it was first announced in October 2019. The integrated unit weighs just 49.9 kg (including lubricants) and uses a brushless, permanent magnet motor, with all other components (including one metre of cabling) package into a size of 441 mm long, 384 mm wide and 228 mm tall.
The motor has a peak efficiency of 97% when spinning at 8,000 rpm and has a maximum rotational speed of 10,500 rpm. Depending on the transmission ratio chosen (11.508 or 6.332) – factoring in tyre size and the top speed requirement – the maximum nominal output torque is between 861 Nm and 1,565 Nm.
The HPD unit has multiple installation points and with the ability to site the inverter and cooling packs separately, as well as being waterproof, offers more flexibility to fit in a wide range of vehicles. Said inverter also comes in two varieties (144 V or 400 V), depending on the battery voltage.
Since introducing the system last year, the company has received over 400 requests for more information and several pre-orders have been made. The positive reaction also saw some OEMs committing to further R&D projects, including one for a hybrid e-axle application.
“It’s now easier than ever for anyone to convert a car, truck or even quad bike to electric. HPD is a new, properly engineered system with a years’ warranty. With deliveries starting in August, now could be the ideal time to start planning a project,” said Raphaël Caillé, managing director of Swindon Powertrain.
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Tested to work with hydrogen?
An electric motor that puts out the equivalent performance as a 1.5L Vios engine and costing as much as a Saga. I wonder how much the rest of a car would cost when included.
Buy electric motor, give free battery? heheheh
Time to convert that CRZ
RM34,190 for the motor only? Add RM100.000 for the battery too…
No actually. For a complete charging hardware and 25 kWh battery pack, you are looking at RM30+k. Including import duties and shipping, at worst it will probably cost around RM50k. A lot cheaper if you can build the battery modules yourself, but you need to be creative.
If Malaysia can produce their own battery modules (Eclimo is a manufacturer that builds their own modules), we can see that dip to under RM30k.