Did you know Renault 12 was tested by NASA? – Car book

Badly affected by the 1973 oil crisis, the United States embarked on a relentless search by the end of the decade for solutions that would not only make cars more fuel efficient, but even eliminate fossil fuels altogether, and in this context Renault 12 “Crossed” with NASA.

Sold in the US, the Gallic model was one of those selected as part of NASA’s ERDA project, a project in which the agency responsible for bringing a man to the moon several years earlier sought to discover the commercial viability of electric and hybrid models. …

To this end, the “North American” Renault 12 (easily recognizable by its twin headlights and large bumpers) has been converted to an all-electric model by EVA (Electric Vehicle Associates).

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Founded in 1974 in Ohio, the company was involved in converting combustion engine models to electric vehicles with the support of the US Department of Energy, which, as we told you, wanted to find out if they had electric vehicles. “Legs for walking.”

Or EVA Metro

Without being officially developed by Renault, the electrified 12 changed its name and became known as the EVA Metro. The EVA Metro, equipped with 19 6-volt lead-acid batteries under the hood and in the trunk, weighed 500 kg more than the Renault 12 and weighed 1429 kg on the scales.

To move all this mass, EVA equipped 12 (sorry metro) with a 13 hp electric motor, which allowed it to develop a modest top speed of 90 km / h and accelerate to 50 km / h in 12 seconds. The transmission was controlled by a three-speed automatic transmission.

In terms of autonomy, it mirrored the technology available at the time. Fully charged (which took about six hours on a 220V outlet), the EVA Metro was able to travel 65 to 100 km.

And if you thought it was boring to rent batteries for Renault EVs, know that the batteries of this Renault 12 electric car needed to be regularly refilled with distilled water as a maintenance measure.

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Tests

Further evidence of the extraordinary evolution of electric vehicles in recent years is the EVA Metro reliability record in NASA tests (the results of which may consult here).

Tested in 1975 and 1976 (with new and used motors and battery), the EVA Metro impressed in autonomy tests: at a constant speed of 40 km / h, it covered 91 km when the speed increased to 56 km. Its autonomy was 57 km, and even with the speedometer set at 85 km / h, he was able to drive 45 km.

Remember, all of this was achieved before the advent of modern lithium-ion batteries and regenerative braking systems. However, in the area of ​​reliability, things have not gone so well.

In total, the EVA Metro engine had to be changed four times during testing. Even so, it could be seen that archaic 6-volt lead-acid batteries would be able to withstand 45,000 kilometers, which again is not a small amount when you consider that we were in the 1970s.

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Despite the positive balance of tests, the EVA Metro was never mass-produced. In total, only seven units were produced (sold to individuals, companies or donated to universities), and only two are known. One is in Canada and the other is in the United States after being restored.