You don't take on projects like this because you're on a mission to make the most efficient vehicle. Lots of people are paid good money to do that and produce the slip-slugs we have today.

A project like this is to have a fun experience in a vehicle that was never designed to drive with electric qualities. I don't need the most efficient vehicle for my use so I could afford to trade some of that for fun. I'd probably try a Subaru Impreza STi because it would just be a blast to have a car of that size and stature with an electric powerplant under the hood (or trunk, or wherever it fits)

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hnav 7 hours ago | parent [-]

90% of the STi's charm is the drivetrain. How would a hacked up STi differ from a model 3?

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saratogacx 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Mainly size and driving position. The charm of the AWD and live adjustments would need to be kept around but even without the ol turbo you'll still have a small, nimble, darty car to toss around. Something would be lost in the conversion but balancing turbo lag isn't the entire car. The Model 3 is long, wide, with a big wheelbase compared to, especially the older, STi's.

	▲	hnav 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I wouldn't call STIs darty. They're nose heavy and need heavy coaxing with the left foot to rotate. The big wheelbase in the Model 3 is a fair point though. Apparently there are TC/DSC defeat devices and mechanical LSDs available for them now, so I'd expect Model 3s to be rallied more and more as they age out.