eBay find of the day: 1980 Lectric Leopard w/VIDEO
What you see pictured above is a 1980 Lectric Leopard. For those who still have a memory of cars of the late '70s and early '80s you might recognize this as a Renault R5 - or Le Car as it was dubbed in North America. As near as we can determine these were converted from brand new R5s to electric drive by a company called US Electricar. The normal powertrain was replaced with a 12 hp electric motor and 16 6V lead acid batteries, most of which are mounted in the back. Based on the poorly written description in the eBay listing, this example was originally bought by a group called the Tree People who eventually passed it on to the Peterson Automotive Museum. The current owner eventually picked it up when the museum got rid of it on eBay a few years ago and "restored" it. It currently has 3,210 miles on it but the on-board charger doesn't work meaning you have to use an external unit to get any juice in the batteries. The motor apparently still has issues and the car won't go over 20 mph. The claimed top speed when new was 55 mph with a 60 mile warm weather range. The current top bid as this is written is $2,500 for what would clearly be a project car for anyone interested. There's also a video after the jump of another Lectric Leopard.
Gallery: eBay Find: 1980 Lectric Leopard
[Source: eBay]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Kiernan 7:17PM (11/05/2008)
This is the thing I don't understand. 30 years ago it was possible to have a small car go 60 miles on a charge at a speed of about 50 mph. Now in 2008 we have NEVs that only do 25 mph and have a range of 50 miles.
Where is the technology jump?
Reply
wave54 3:41PM (11/06/2008)
** 30 years ago it was possible to have a small car go 60 miles on a charge at a speed of about 50 mph. **
How long did they perform at this level, if at all? There's a reason why most of the 70s and 80s electric cars that show up on eBay have only a few hundred miles on them. They didn't live up to the claims and weren't reliable over what most owners would consider a "normal" lifespan.
I expect any car to exceed 200,000 miles and still be fundamentally sound. An EV wundercar that craps out at 5,000 miles is completely worthless to me.
This particular car is in amazing condition (rust-free) for being 28 years old, except for the dash, which looks pretty hacked up.
A good high school shop class project -- probably nothing more.