The Electric Roadster Project

Welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

This is where I hope to document my journey to convert a Smart Roadster into a fully electric vehicle. At the time of writing this post, I currently do not even own a Smart Roadster, so you are joining me in the very early stages of the project planning and research.

For a long time, I have been interested in electric vehicles, and more specifically, the DIY conversions from ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) to Fully Electric, taking place all over the world by ordinary people in their workshops and garages. I hope to join these in completing my own conversion in my garage.

Why fully electric? 

From the outset, I would like to state that being ‘green’ is not the main motivation for this project. I am a petrol head and love my cars. But I do believe that electric vehicles just make sense in every way, from cost of running, emissions, efficiency, power and especially if you can make an EV as fun and engaging to drive as an ICE vehicle.

I do however like the idea of being self sufficient. I don’t like the fact that I rely on a supply of gas and electricity from the grid to power and heat my home, as well as oil in the form of petrol or diesel to power my car. I am currently reliant on someone else, some corporation or government, to supply me with these things in order to function in a modern world. My aim is, with recent developments in solar and battery technology, to take myself ‘off grid’ so that if required, I can provide myself with all my power needs.

The main reason for this project however, is that I would like to build a fast, reliable and fun roadster, and turn the Smart Roadster into the car it should have always been. I will discuss Why a Smart Roadster? in the next post. I would also like to use my engineering background to develop a fun and exciting hobby, with a nod to the future of vehicles.

I am not the first person to convert a Smart Roadster. I have been reading up on a number of conversions in Europe, including Superpiki. I have also been following keenly a conversion taking place in the UK at roadster-ev.blogspot.co.uk, which has already provided some great insights into what lies ahead for my own conversion, and will save me a lot of time and effort!

So, thank you again for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope the forthcoming posts can inspire and help you with your own EV conversions in the future. Its going to be a long road, but I hope we can learn, grow and develop skills, alls while having some fun.

Tom