Tread are zero-emission cars that, thanks to their large batteries, carry a powerful CO2 backpack with them. A combustion engine, of all things, is supposed to reduce this.
That way Electric Cars are suitable for everyday use, in the opinion of many drivers they need large batteries for long ranges. In terms of life cycle assessment, weight, efficiency and costs, however, huge batteries also have disadvantages. The Austrian company Obrist makes an alternative proposal with its Zero Vibration Generator (ZVG). It's a gasoline engine that was implanted in a Tesla Model 3 to make it more environmentally friendly. Despite the drastically reduced battery, the Tesla, which has been renamed the Hyper Hybrid, has a long range and remains climate-neutral despite the combustion engine.
The burner has a smaller battery than the original
At its core, the Obrist solution is a serial hybrid drive. A 100 kW / 136 PS electric motor in the rear is responsible for propulsion, which draws power from a 17,3 kWh traction battery. This is significantly smaller than the 52 kWh or 82 kWh batteries used by Tesla. Where the Frunk is located in the Tesla, Obrist has installed a heavily encapsulated one-liter two-cylinder gasoline engine. It is not physically connected to the drive, but drives a generator, which in turn supplies electricity to the electric drive.
Thanks to the balancing compound and encapsulation, the two-cylinder should not be acoustically perceptible to the occupants. There is a 30 liter tank in the rear of the Tesla. The supply is sufficient for long tours, because the fuel consumption should be practically between 2,5 and 4,5 liters per 100 kilometers.
In addition to a 40 kW generator for gasoline operation, Obrist has developed a 45 kW equivalent for e-fuels such as methanol. The eco-fuel for the new variant could be obtained from climate-neutral hydrogen, which would have a neutral carbon footprint. In principle, the hybrid drive system should meet the limits of the upcoming Euro 7 emissions standard despite the combustion unit. More importantly, however: the CO2 backpack of the electric drive would be small thanks to the rightsizing battery, and the vehicle weight would also be significantly less than that of the production model 3.
In addition, thanks to the small battery, the ZVG solution would enable significantly lower acquisition costs. According to Obrist, a corresponding production vehicle would cost roughly as much as a conventional gasoline model. However, it remains to be seen whether the Obrist solution will be used in a production model. It could be so far in 2025.