Pehlivan Electric Car
“Why did Turkey cross Elon Musk? Because
it'll stuff his EVs, that’s why!” No disrespect to the country, but one can’t
resist the joke – not when it goes on the record saying its upcoming Pehlivan
electric car will be better than a Tesla.
Turkish Science, Industry and Technology
Minister Fikri Işık did actually make that statement, according to a Hurriyet
Daily News report. “Our car will be better and safer than Tesla’s car”, said
Isik. “While they need to establish charging stations, we will integrate the
charging station into the car thanks to a developed engine which extends the
car’s range.”
The Pehlivan (that’s Turkish for
wrestler) is the winning design of a competition that was sponsored by the
Turkish government and was co-developed with TÃœBÄ°TAK, the country’s Scientific
and Technical Research Council.
Having just completed a two-week tour of
the Balkans at Sarajevo, Serbia, the project is part of Turkey’s initiative of
developing its homebuilt EV. Last October, it sealed a deal with Saab owner
NEVS and acquired the electric Saab 9-3 intellectual rights, though not its
name as it will be sold under a new, Turkish brand.
“One of the world’s largest battery
manufacturers offered us to make production jointly. We have already built
cooperation with Bosch in the framework of our car project”, Isik added.
“We want to produce the range extender
conventional engine in Turkey by the end of 2018 with having the intellectual
property rights of the technology. We are also in talks with several companies
for further cooperation. The two-cylindrical gasoline-powered engine with a 1
liter capacity, which will also serve as a generator, will work with high
productivity at around 35 percent.”
Source : Carscoops