Building an electric car is far simpler than an ICE. The batteries are by far the most important part.
Just like if I were to buy a Porsche with a flappy paddle gearbox, I'd ask their Sonderwunsch dept, to put a clutch peddle in, for those times I need to dip the clutch in order to gain control of the vehicle when driving on the limit because of the reasons why the 930 got its nickname the Widow Maker.
At best all I could do at the moment with a flappy paddle gearbox is try to boot the gearbox into a high gear like 6 or 7 and hope it can change gear fast enough whilst hoping the engine is not too powerful to act like the handbrake has been pulled up unceremoniously when taking my foot off the accelerator.
Now where in the controls do I alter the regen amount on an electric car, in order to stop it from contributing to an accident when driving on the limit? I bet its not a single action control, but something buried deep inside a menu somewhere. Of course the added weight of the batteries and thus increased weight of the vehicle, makes the experience much more like driving an electric train on the open road, stable and safe most of the time, but one hell of an accident when one does occur!
Toyota I think have announced they are simulating a gearbox in one of their new EV's which in my opinion is an admission that EV's are much harder to control because the need to feather the accelerator becomes a necessity unless the rate of acceleration is dialed back by the manufacturer. And then extra acceleration performance sold as an in car purchase like we are now seeing in some cars with heated seats can be sold unless the owner doesnt know someone who can hack the vehicle management system.
But just like many people complained about the brakes of the mk1 and mk2 VW golfs and polos, and porsche's in the 964's and earlier ie pre-ABS brakes, what those people complaining about is exactly how you want your brakes to work like if you dont have or need ABS. I could apply the brakes in such a way, I could have the front passenger side wheel locked up, but the remaining brakes not locked and then feathering the brakes so as to not flat spot the tyre.
Its virtually impossible to do that in todays ABS braking system world and I would always switch the traction control and other systems off because I could react faster than the systems could. Although I have to admit the Mercedes AMG S63 has for over a decade now, have a better braking system which enables the rear end to slide out a bit more around roundabouts in certain conditions, like what is today known as drift mode.
Are you speaking from personal experience here? The accelerator takes some getting used to, but most people adapt in like 30 or so seconds. What Toyota wants is something on an EV that simulates a manual transmission...for people who like sports cars, they like shifting. Sort of like EVs that put a subwoofer under your butt to simulate voom voom engine sounds. These are niche products.
I think Pirelli and Michelin will like to know this one as will half of the experts in physics!
In racing, there is something called Marbles. Now this is debris, typically rolled chucks of rubber thats peeled off tyres on a race track, but on the open road, this will typically be aggregate, chunks of stone that has been released from the road surface.
You find this on the edges of roads or on the outer edge of roundabouts.
These are an absolute nightmare to drive on, but if you have a lightweight car you can drive on these parts of the roundabout fast enough to undertake people who cut across to the inner lane of the roundabout, even in the wet.
I would not dare attempt that in an EV, the car would just just slide off the road. I dont care for the lower center of gravity that much, in fact if its too low it starts to affect the suspension and handling, where the suspension hits the bump stops.
Front wheel drive diesels have this problem over the front axle, where their suspension bottoms out on the bump stops.
Ok, hold up. You have:
1. roundabouts, ok, no problem, we have lots of those, I've never had a problem in an EV.
2. Gutter curbs around roundabouts. Yes driving in those is bad, you'll get a flat tire pretty quickly that way (no matter your car). I used to ride my bike in those and got flats all the time.
3. You want to race around other people in the round about. Ugh, this isn't the USA is it? I'm guessing Russia or China, or some other developing world country?
I think this is a niche case, like doing donuts or drifting.
I think they were hoping I wouldnt see them and I'd be tired from such a long journey, and the use of a deer enables a car crash whilst being able to blame it on "wildlife"!
There really are some right royal nutters living here, thats why I hope the porsche night vision system can record these events besides just being a display for night time use.
Glad to see your default impression of Porsche is speed though, that reinforces my desire to purchase one. :-)
Thing is the 911 Dakar which is ideal for the above mentioned conditions doesnt come with a towing eye, so I'd have to have the surfboards on the roof rack or poking out through the sunroof, and I've got no where to tow some jet skis if I wanted to hit the beach but you can do anything you like between the high and low water mark on a UK beach and I know some fantastic beaches perfect for this car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqc-HPeaQv8