700WHP Hybrid 350Z & Electric Lotus | Modern EV Conversions [TECH TALK]

It’s not long ago that trying to get 200HP more from an engine at its limit without forced induction or nitrous would have left you scratching your head with 0 results.

Sasha Anis of MoTeC Canada and Mountain Pass Performance runs us through their Lotus Evora (Blue Lightning) EV conversion project and 700HP Nissan 350Z Hybrid setup which all use a mixture of OEM Tesla, Chevrolet and BMW motor and battery components

Sasha discusses how the goal for the Blue Lightning project was to have a complete OE feel including stability and traction control built-in using a MoTeC M150EV control unit rather than all the manual switches you often find in a race car. The limitations including software, range, heat and voltage management are touched on along with cost being one of the biggest barriers to entry for motorsport level setups at the moment. Luckily there are some options that MoTeC offer and some other simpler controllers out there already getting the ball rolling with plug and play solutions in the pipeline for the industry also.

On the Hybrid 350Z front we learn about the 500HP All Motor VQ35 and its KERS system that sees up to 200HP extra on tap once more than 80% throttle has been requested. This setup gives the flexibility of going all out for a Time Attack application or having smaller amounts of power on tap for an entire race depending on driver and track demands. A MoTeC GPRP is used for engine and sequential gearbox control with a lot of the custom Blue Lightning firmware handling the electric motor side of the car.

Lastly, we dive into the charging limitations for a KERS system. As the BMW i8 battery has some unknown parameters and is expensive, Sasha explains that it’s a constant balance of managing voltage and heat to ensure batteries are not overcharged when they’re close to full but have as much charge as they can safely when depleted to maximise performance, meaning the scale of charge is always shifting.

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