This EV Baja Bug is Going to be Insane

Sletten Engineering EV 511 Build: Intro

Tim Sletten, owner and founder of Sletten engineering has had years of experience building and racing Baja Bugs, but most particularly in stock Bug off-road racing known as Class 11. He currently spends most of his time building race cars for clients and taking on all Volkswagen air-cooled projects alike at his shop in the California Desert. But recently he has taken on a project that is air-cooled but it’s not the way we traditionally think air cooled VW - he is building a Baja Bug powered by a Tesla direct drive motor. Making it one of the few EV Baja Bugs around and it is going to be insane.

This is a whole project undertaking that is new to Sletten, although has never built an EV conversion before he isn’t afraid of the challenge. When the unique opportunity presented itself he happily accepted it as way to push boundaries of what is possible in the off-road space. Though. he is very familiar in the field of electrical engineering and will be able to apply that to this build.

So, what is this build exactly and what makes it a Baja Bug? It is a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle with off-road suspension being to utilize as much suspension travel as possible for rough terrain while retaining as much as the original Beetle look. It has been named EV 511 because it is a cross mix between a Class 5 Unlimited bug while retaining Class 11 stock bug features such as the steel body and torsion suspension.

The entire chassis has been reinforced with a roll cage that ties into the front suspension and follows all the way to the rear for the motor, providing ultimate structural rigidity.

Retaining the front torsion beam suspension and torsion rear suspension as well allows for it pulling off a modest 10” of travel in the front and 13” in the rear outfitted with King Off-Road Racing Shocks. The suspension components are far from original utilizing Foddrill front arms Combo Link spindles, and EMPI CVs and Axles.

The drivetrain is where things get interesting - a Tesla Rear Drive Unit 3.0 motor has been sourced from a salvaged Model S. While it was possible to mate it to a VW type transmission and has done before, Sletten went with an approach keep the weight down and opt for a more effective direct drive to the wheels instead of a transmission adapter. Allowing for instant torque to the rear wheels while having no power loss in thee drivetrain.

Sletten sourced nine LG Chem Lithium Ion Batteries that are modular, allowing the batteries to be evenly placed throughout the car, for an estimated 250 mile range. All set and done the Bug should make about 223 KW (300HP) and have an estimated 300 FT LB torque. With this power and the goal to have the car weight sub 2500 pounds, it will be no slouch in the performance department and will be plenty to make a fun off-road car.

While there is still much work to be done on the EV Bug we will documenting the journey as Sletten Engineering pushes industry norms of what has already been done in the off-road industry. We are excited to follow along and will be updating as much as possible within the coming months.

Follow @slettenengineering to keep up to date on all their projects.

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