WO2012045145A1

WO2012045145A1 - Modular electric vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2012045145A1
Application number: PCT/CA2011/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Simon Mynheer; Christopher John Mynheer
Original assignee: Andrew Simon Mynheer; Christopher John Mynheer
Priority date: 2010-10-07
Filing date: 2011-01-06
Publication date: 2012-04-12
Also published as: WO2012045145A9; CA2717163A1

Abstract

A modular electric vehicle includes a chassis which runs and along the length of the vehicle and down onto which are mounted modules including power and battery-compartment cages, themselves also modularly constructed, and an inner/outer tub unit defining the driver/passenger compartment within the inner tub and electrical service tunnels along the sidewalls in between the inner/outer tubs, an upper shell mounted down onto the rim of the tub unit, the tub unit sandwiched between the cages, the suspension mounted off laterally opposite sides of the cages.

Description

MODULAR ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of vehicles which are primarily powered by a drive system having an electric motor powered by rechargeable batteries, and in particular to a modular approach to the construction of such a vehicle.

Background of the Invention

Applicant is aware that the prior art is replete with electrically powered vehicles whether or not ever put into production or merely postulated. A cursory review of issued United States patents reveals many such attempts, the following three of those being merely representative of prior art which may be relevant to the present invention.

In particular, applicant is aware of United States Patent No. 3,497,027 which issued February 24, 1970 to Wild for an Electric Automobile in which Wild describes an automobile which is driven by electric motors and powered selectively from one of two different types of power pods. Wild discusses that one of the power pods contains batteries and the other of the power pods contains a generator that is powered by an internal combustion engine. The pods are taught to be interchangeable and that the battery-holding pod is removable so as to be recharged. In one embodiment, the vehicle contains two electric power pod compartments, one in its forward and the other in its rear end respectively. Applicant is also aware of Untied States Patent No. 3,690,397 which issued on

September 12, 1972 to Parker for an Electric Automobile wherein Parker discloses an electrically propelled automobile provided with a detachable wheeled trailer unit housed entirely within the confines of the automobile body and carrying battery units for energizing the automobile motor. Applicant is also aware of United States Patent No. 5,477,116 which issued December 19, 1995 to Journey for a Golf Car Having Modular Accelerator Pedal Assembly with Non-Contacting Position Sensor, wherein Journey describes a car having a chassis, drive system, tires, brakes, and a steering system where the car may have either an internal combustion engine drive system or electric powered drive system. Journey describes that the engine assembly may consist of an engine, rear-axle assembly and tie members which may be pre-assembled as a rigid unitary assembly and inserted and connected to the chassis as a modular unit using a three point pivotable mounting of the engine to the chassis. In the electric motor embodiment, the electric motor is directly operably attached to the rear-axle assembly at a gear box. The rear-axle assembly is connected to the chassis by shock absorbers and leaf springs. The electric motor is electrically connected to a speed controller. Electrical cable connects the batteries to the speed controller, and connects the speed controller to an accelerator pedal assembly. The batteries are mounted to the chassis by a battery support which has a bottom section directly attached to the chassis, front sections which are attached to a transverse section of the chassis and rear sections which are attached to a second transverse section of the chassis. The batteries sit on the bottom section of the battery support structure. The battery support structure also includes a top section which connects to the two transverse sections of the chassis and also functions as a support frame for the seat of the car.

Summary of the Invention

In summary the modular electric car according to the present invention may be characterized in one aspect as including a rigid horizontal chassis having opposite front and rear ends, where a power cage and a battery compartment cage are mounted on the front and rear ends of the chassis. At least one electric drive motor is mounted in the power cage, and at least one battery is mounted in the battery compartment cage, which for example may be the rear cage, electrically cooperate with the drive motor by a wiring harness or loom extending between the two cages. In alternative embodiments of the present invention the positions of the drive motor and batteries may be reversed so that the drive motor may be in the rear cage and/or the batteries may be in front cage, or in both of the cages, and also may be distributed elsewhere in the vehicle, as set out below. A lower, exterior tub is mounted onto the chassis between the front and rear cages. The lower exterior tub defines a first cavity therein. A lower interior tub is mounted into the first cavity of the lower exterior tub so as to define therebetween laterally oppositely disposed voids forming service channels or service tunnels (collectively "tunnels" herein) extending from adjacent the rear cage to adjacent the front cage. The lower exterior and interior tubs each have laterally oppositely disposed sidewalls. The channels or tunnels are defined by, and extend between, the tub sidewalls. Batteries may be mounted, at least in part, within the service tunnels to provide extended range for the vehicle when the batteries are charged. The lower exterior and interior tubs each have upper edges. The upper edges of the lower exterior and interior tubs mate to form a rim extending circumferentially completely around the upper edge of the combined lower exterior and interior tubs. A rigid top rail may be mounted on each, laterally opposite side of the rim. An upper body shell is mounted down onto the rim so as to define an interior compartment between, and within, the combination of the upper body shell and the lower interior tub.

As laterally oppositely disposed pair of front suspension linkages are mounted correspondingly to laterally oppositely disposed sides of the front cage. A pair of front wheels and corresponding brakes are mounted correspondingly to hubs on the pair of front suspension linkages. A pair of drive linkage cooperate between the drive motor and the pair of front wheels. A laterally oppositely disposed pair of rear suspension linkages are mounted correspondingly to laterally oppositely disposed sides of the rear cage. A pair of rear wheels and corresponding brakes are mounted correspondingly to hubs on the pair of rear suspension linkages. In the alternative embodiments drive linkages may be provided to drive the rear wheels, especially in embodiments wherein the drive motor is mounted in the rear cage, that is, where the power cage is the rear cage and therefore the battery component cage is the front cage. A steering mechanism extends into the interior compartment and cooperates with the pair of hubs, front suspension linkages and front wheels to provide steering control. A braking mechanism also extends into the interior compartment and cooperates with the front and rear brakes to provide braking control. A laterally oppositely disposed pair of substantially parallel elongate side rails may be mounted, substantially horizontally, to the pair of top rails on the rim or to the sidewalk so as to be substantially parallel to the side walls to provide increased structural rigidity and a step for ease of entry/exit by a user. For use in this embodiment, a laterally oppositely disposed pair of forward apertures may be formed in the side walls adjacent to the front end of the frame, and a laterally oppositely disposed pair of rear apertures may be formed in the side walls adjacent to the rear end of the frame. The side rails may be mounted in the forward and rear apertures so as to mount to the top rails, wherein the top rails are mounted sandwiched between the upper edges of the inner and outer tubs. In a preferred embodiment the interior and exterior tubs have opposite front and rear bulkhead openings for mounting therein of substantially vertical and substantially planar front and rear bulkheads. The front and rear bulkheads are mounted to the chassis. The front and rear cages are mounted down onto the chassis so as to be closely adjacent their corresponding bulkheads. A keying system may be provided so that the front and rear cages will not be mistakenly mounted the wrong ends of the chassis, so that a front key on the front bulk head must be watched with the corresponding keyhole on the front cage and visa versa. Similarly, a rear key and keyhole is provided on the rear bulkhead and rear cage. Rigid structural reinforcing members may be mounted to, so as to extend between, the chassis and reinforcing rails, for example the top rails. The reinforcing members may include at least a front and back pair of laterally oppositely disposed upright members. The front and rear suspensions each include upper suspension arms. The upper suspension arms are pivotally mounted to corresponding upper ends of the front and rear cages.

Preferably each cage of the front and rear cages is modularly constructed of components which are bolted together. The components may thus be transportable, when unbolted from each other, in a more or less flat-packed form.

The front and rear suspensions preferably each further include a rigid bracket member mounted atop the front and rear cages, each bracket member having an extension such as a cantilevered end extending outwardly over the corresponding upper suspension arms. A resilient member, such as an airbag for example, is mounted between each the upper suspension arm and a corresponding cantilevered end of a bracket member. Each bracket member may include a reinforced plate. The reinforced plate may include an elongate, inverted channel member reinforced by a reinforcing top plate.

The front and rear cages may each include separate upper and lower, side and end wall plates bolted to one another. In the preferred embodiment the upper, lower, side and end wall plates form a substantially rectilinear housing comprising each of the front and rear cages. For example, each housing may be shaped as substantially, a rectangular parallelepiped.

In a preferred embodiment the upper suspension arms are adapted to rigidly support a resilient air suspension member such as the airbag thereupon. The upper suspension arms thus may include a rigid supporting member extending across wish-bone shaped arms, so that the air suspension member may mount onto the rigid supporting member.

Wish-bone shaped lower suspension arms may be pivotally mounted to corresponding lower ends of the front and rear cages. The upper and lower suspension arms have distal ends, distal from the front and rear cages, at vertices of the wish-bone shape. The wheel mounting hubs are mounted to so as to extend between, the distal ends of the arms to thereby form substantially a parallelogram linkage on the upper and lower suspension arms. The laterally opposite ends of the power cage has apertures therein, so that a laterally oppositely disposed pair of drive shafts of the drive linkages may extend from the motor or motors to the wheel mounting hubs.

Programmable controllers control and govern the motors, in particular where the motors are electric motors.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is, in front perspective view, the modular electric vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention in a raised elevation.

Figure 2 is the electric vehicle of Figure 1 in a lowered elevation.

Figure 3 is, in rear perspective view, the electric vehicle of Figure 1 with the roof rail removed.

Figure 4 is the electric vehicle of Figure 1 with gull-wing targa roof components mounted onto the roof rail, and with a rear hatch cover mounted behind the roll over bar. Figure 5 is, in partially cut-away side elevation view, the electric vehicle of Figure 1 with the front body cover removed and indicating the chassis sub-structure in dotted outline. Figure 6 is, in partially cut-away and partially exploded view the upper body, inner tub, chassis, outer tub, front and rear cages, nose cone, rear impact brace, front body cover, and roll-over cage of the vehicle of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is, in front perspective view, the chassis of Figure 6 with the side rails removed.

Figure 8 is the chassis of Figure 7 with the roll-over cage, the front and rear cages, the nose cone and the side rails mounted onto the chassis. Figure 9a is, in side elevation view the chassis of Figure 7 with the upper baulk head removed.

Figure 9b is, in plan view, the chassis of Figure 9a. Figure 10 is, in front perspective view, the roll-over cage of Figure 8.

Figure 11 is, in partially exploded front perspective view, the left hand top rail and corresponding side rail of the chassis of Figure 8. Figure 12 is, in front perspective view, the nose cone of Figure 8.

Figure 13 is, in front perspective view, the front cage of Figure 8.

Figure 14 is, in exploded view, the front cage of Figure 13. Figure 15 is, in rear perspective view, one of the parallelogram pair of suspension swing arms and corresponding air bag suspension mounted to one side of the front cage of Figure 13 with the wheel brake structure mounted between the distal ends of the suspension arms and the drive train mounted thereto from the motor unit contained within the front cage.

Figure 16 is, in partially cut-away end elevation view, the front cage of Figure 13 with oppositely disposed pairs of parallelogram suspension arms and brake structures mounted to opposite sides of the front cage and with the turret plate mounted on top of the front cage.

Figure 17 is, in partially cut-away rear perspective view, the front cage of Figure 16 partially cut-away to show the left and right suspension arms, the left and right extensions of the turret plate with the air bag suspension mounted between the turret plate extensions and the upper extension arms, and with an electric motor mounted between the side plates of the front cage with the drive shafts extending through the side plates and to the wheel supporting structures mounted between the distal ends of the suspension arms and with an engine cooling unit mounted in front of the electric motors.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention

It is one object of the present invention to provide a design capable of modular construction and modular shipping of vehicles such as automobiles, where the various components may be, in a sense, flat-packed to reduce shipping costs and yet to still provide relatively simple modularity for relatively simple assembly.

The modular approach in the present invention is to provide modular platforms such as a modular chassis which is complete and which allows for interchanging of different upper body designs so that the basic under-body may be adapted by the use of different upper bodies, and so that various kits may be correspondingly assembled. The kits have similar under-body components and yet the upper body provides, for example, a dune buggy styling, or speedster styling, , or a delivery van styling to name just a few, and which are not intending to be limiting. The present invention also provides such vehicle designs that are road worthy in the sense that they may be adapted to accommodate the regulations regulating motor vehicles in various jurisdictions and which designs provide sufficient performance for urban or highway travel.

In the preferred embodiment of an electric vehicle, which is not intended to be limiting the expected performance of such a vehicle puts extradorinary demands on the batteries which power the electric motor. It is desirable to limit the weight of the vehicle to reduce those demands while at the same time providing for carrying significant battery capacity for useful range, acceleration etc.. Consequently, the present invention accommodates the use of composites and/or lighter metals such as aluminium. In one embodiment, the present invention uses structural components which accommodate the use of batteries and an electric motor supplied by third party suppliers. This avoids the requirement of custom built batteries and motors which would adversely affect the production cost of a vehicle according to the present invention. Usefully then, modulate rigid housings of a standardized side and shape, herein referred to has cages, are provided to contain OEM supplied components including batteries, motors, processors, cooling assemblies (such as by water cooling), pneumatic assemblies for providing suspension pneumatics, drive train, brakes etc. For a particular style of vehicle then, the use of such cages allows for prepackaging of system into the cages, which are merely then mounted to the chassis, to the front and back of the "tub "-design the enclosure for the driver and passengers varying sizes of tub- design enclosures may be employed for various models and applications, which a corresponding size of chassis, onto which is mounted two or more cages as required and may be fit. In the embodiment disclosed herein the design calls for two cages, one front and back, with the tub enclosure therebetween approximately midway along the space-frame of the chassis. As compared to the monocoque or unibody design known in the art of designing racing vehicles, the present design provides a three-fold approach for increased structural rigidity. Firstly the chassis provides a base rigidity, for example up to fifty percent of the desired rigidity. Second, the tub design using an inner and outer tub mounted nested with the former into the latter and the combination mounted down onto the chassis provides another significant contribution to the stiffness contributing up to another fifty percent. Lastly, additional stiffness may be provided by the use of horizontal rails, for example top rails in the walls of the tub design enclosure, side rails extend to the tub side walls, and roof rail extending over the tub-design enclosure and mounted front and back to provide stiffener running longitudinally over and laterally bisecting the tub enclosure.

Thus such a vehicle 10 will advantageously include a space-frame chassis 12, which may for example be made of aluminium, and onto which is mounted a conformally fitting outer tub 14. The under-side of outer tub 14 sits down onto the upper surface of chassis frame 12. An inner tub 16 mounts down into outer tub 14. The inner and outer tubs may be advantageously of pre-stressed composite construction.

A pair of side rails 22 mount onto a corresponding pair of top rail 24 which mount onto the rim 20. The pair of opposed facing side rails 22 are mounted to opposite sides of outer tub 14, for example by bolting.

Upper-body 26 mounts down onto the rim 20 of the combination of inner and outer tubs 16 and 14 respectively. A roof rail 18a is provided combined into a roll-over cage 18 and mounted down onto upper-body 26 to the rear and the upper bulkhead 38 to the front. In the illustrated embodiment, which is not intended to be limiting, no doors are provided. This so-called dune buggy styling of upper body 26 uses side rails 22 so that a user may merely step on side side rails 22 for ease of entry into the interior compartment 28 of the vehicle. In addition, and as better described below, the suspension of the vehicle may provide for selective lowering and raising of the vehicle body relative to the vehicles tires 30 so that the vehicle body may be lowered as seen in Figure 2 from its raised position of Figure 1 to thereby lower the height of the required step over for a user to enter into compartment 28.

Subject to the provision of different mounting keys to make the installation fool-proof, front and rear cages 32 and 34 respectively are provided which are substantially identical to one another. In one embodiment, front cage 32 houses an electric motor such as maybe provided by Green Motor Sports of Woking, Surrey, England. Rear cage 34 may contain electrically connected batteries, for example lithium ion batteries, such as provided by Lifebatt of Danville, West Virginia, USA. A wiring harness or loom (not shown) provides power from the batteries in rear cage 34 via the tunnel or channel 36 formed between side walls 16a of inner tub 16 and corresponding side walls 14a of outer tub 14. It is understood that although harness channel 36 is shown illustrated on one side of tubs 14 and 16, the electrical harness could alternatively run in the opposite channel 36 formed between side walls 14a and 16a, that is, on the other side of the tubs, or through both of these channels on both sides. For example, in one embodiment the positive cables run through are channel 36 and the negative cables run through the opposite and parallel channel 36.

Chassis frame 12 is a unitary space frame, having longitudinally extending rigid members 12a space frame which extend from a rear bulkhead 12b to a front bulkhead 12c. Vertical uprights 12d extend upwardly from corresponding left and right longitudinal members 12a so as to support rigid cross members 12e which extend laterally between members 12a.

The suspension is provided by upper and lower suspension arms 42 and 44 respectively mounted in oppositely disposed pairs to the laterally opposite sides of front and rear cages 32 and 34. In particular upper suspension arm 42 is pivotally mounted at hinge points 42a to the upper edge of sides 32a of front cage 32 and sides 34a of rear cage 34. Lower suspension arms 42 form a parallelogram with upper suspension arms 42 and are hinged at hinge points 44a on the lower edges of sides 32a and 34a of front and rear cages 32 and 34 respectively. A dampener such as a shock absorber 46 may be mounted so as to extend from the upper edge of sides 32a and 34a, and a mid-point along lower suspension arms 44.

A turret plate 48, formed as an inverted, generally channel shaped member, is mounted down onto the top plate 32b of front cage 32 so as to provide rigid cantilevered or braced extensions 48a which extend laterally outwardly over upper suspension arms 42. Airbags 50, which are commercially available from for example under the Goodyear™ brand, are mounted between extensions 48a of turret plate 48 and a center supporting platform 42b formed in what is otherwise a generally u-shaped upper suspension arm 42. Airbags 50 may be inflated to a predetermined air pressure or, in a further embodiment, may be selectively pressurized so as to selectively increase the pressure in airbags 50 when it is desired to raise the chassis relative to the tires 30, thereby raising the vehicle above the ground, or may be selectively depressurized when it is desired to lower the vehicle closer to the ground so as to, for example, allow a user to more easily enter into compartment 28. A pneumatic control system (not shown) may be mounted in once of the cages 32, 34 to control the air pressure in the four air bags 50 disposed in between the four rigid extensions 48 and corresponding upper suspension arms 42.

The top surface of turret plate 48, including extensions 48a, may be planar, or otherwise adapted so that reinforcement plates 52 may be mounted down onto upper surface 48b, at least at the opposite ends of upper surface 48b so as to reinforce the rigid extensions 48a, thereby supporting extensions 48a against the upward thrust of the suspension arms as they rotate upwardly upon tires 30 encountering a bump. The upward force of the suspension arms istransferred via airbags 50 into extensions 48 a. The upward force exerted by the upward rotation of the suspension arms is transferred into turret plate 48, and subsequently into the frame of the front or rear cage, as the case may be. In particular, turret plate 48 is bolted down onto the upper surface of top plate 32b for front cage 32, and the upper surface of top plate 34b for rear cage 34. The load is transferred into the other plates, which are bolted to one another to form the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing, and in particular, end plates 32a, top plate 32b, lower plate 32c and end plates 32d.

As illustrated, each of the top and lower plates 32b and 32c may be in fact formed as u-shapes so that the distal ends of the u-shape of top plate 32b may bolt down onto the opposed facing distal ends of the u-shaped lower plate 32c, and once so bolted to one another, side plates 32a are formed to provide brackets clamping the top plate onto the lower plate, where each of the side plates 32a is assisted by the bracketing provided by end plates 32d also clamping the top plate and lower plate together.

In the case of front cage 32, the rear most end plate 32d is keyed to fit onto front bulkhead 12c. Thus front cage 32 is provided with uniquely shaped apertures 32e, which are circular as illustrated, although this is not intended to be limiting, which match and mate onto corresponding circular raised keys 52 on the bulk head 12c. The rear cage similarly is uniquely keyed to only fit onto the rear bulkhead 12b. Thus the keys 52 protruding from the rear surface bulkhead 12b are shaped differently and mate only into the correspondingly differently shaped apertures formed in rear cage 34 and into apertures 34e formed therein.

With the front and rear cages 32 and 34 respectively mounted onto chassis 12 adjacent respectively front and rear bulk heads 38 and 40. Front cage 32 is sandwiched between front bulkhead 12c and, front nose cone 54 mounted onto the front end of chassis 12. Front body cover 56 may be mounted down onto, so as to cover, forwardly from the front bulk head to the upper front end of the nose cone.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A modular electric vehicle comprising: a rigid horizontal chassis having opposite front and rear ends, a power cage and a battery cage mounted onto said front and rear ends of said chassis, an electric drive motor mounted in said power cage, at least one battery mounted in said battery compartment cage electrically cooperating with said drive motor by a wiring harness extending therebetween, a lower exterior tub mounted onto said chassis between said cages, said lower exterior tub having a first cavity, a lower interior tub mounted into said first cavity of said lower exterior tub so as to define therebetween at least laterally oppositely disposed side wall tunnels extending from adjacent to and between said cages, wherein said lower exterior and interior tubs each have laterally oppositely disposed sidewalls and wherein said side wall tunnels are defined by and extend between said sidewalls, wherein said lower exterior and interior tubs each have upper edges, and wherein said upper edges of said lower exterior and interior tubs mate to form a rim extending circumferentially around said lower exterior and interior tubs, an upper body shell mounted down onto said rim so as to define an interior compartment between and within said upper body shell and said lower interior tub, a laterally oppositely disposed pair of suspension linkages mounted correspondingly to laterally oppositely disposed sides of each said cage, , a drive linkage extending from said drive motor and through side walls of said power cage to drive a pair of drive wheels,

2. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a pair of rigid reinforcing rails mounted on laterally opposite sides of said rim, a laterally oppositely disposed pair of substantially parallel elongate side rails mounted substantially horizontally to said pair of reinforcing rails so as to be substantially parallel to said side walls.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein said chassis includes opposite front and rear bulkheads which are substantially vertical and substantially planar, and wherein said front and rear cages are mounted adjacent said front and rear bulkheads.

4. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein said chassis includes longitudinal members and further comprises rigid structural reinforcing members mounted to so as to extend between said longitudinal members and said reinforcing rails, and wherein said reinforcing members include at least a pair of laterally oppositely disposed upright members.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein said front and rear suspensions each include upper suspension arms, and wherein said upper suspension arms are pivotally mounted to corresponding upper ends of said cages.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein each said cage is modularly constructed of components which are bolted together, wherein said components are transportable, when unbolted from each other, in a flat packed form.

7. The vehicle of claim 5 wherein said front and rear suspensions each further include a rigid bracket member mounted atop said front and rear cages, each said bracket member having an extension extending outwardly over corresponding said upper suspension arms, and further comprising a resilient member mounted between each said upper suspension arm and a corresponding said extension.

8. The vehicle of claim 7 wherein each said resilient member is an airbag.

9. The vehicle of claim 7 wherein each said bracket member includes a reinforced plate.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein said reinforced plate includes an elongate, inverted channel member reinforced by a reinforcing top plate.

11. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein said each cage each includes separate upper and lower, side and end wall plates bolted to one another.

12. The vehicle of claim 12 wherein said upper, lower, side and end wall plates form a substantially rectilinear housing comprising each of said front and rear cages.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 wherein each said housing is shaped as substantially, a rectangular parallelepiped.

14. The vehicle of claim 5 wherein said upper suspension arms are adapted to rigidly support a resilient air suspension member thereupon.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 wherein said upper suspension arms include a rigid supporting member extending across said wish-bone shaped arms, and wherein said air suspension member mounts onto said rigid supporting member.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 wherein wish-bone shaped lower suspension arms are pivotally mounted to corresponding lower ends of said each cage, and wherein said upper and lower suspension arms have distal ends, distal from said front and rear cages, at vertices of said wish-bone shape, and wherein wheel mounting hubs are mounted to so as to extend between, said distal ends to thereby form substantially a parallelogram linkage on said upper and lower suspension arms.

17. The vehicle of claim 16 wherein laterally opposite ends of said power cage have apertures therein, and wherein a laterally oppositely disposed pair of drive shafts extend from said motor to said wheel mounting hubs.

18. The vehicle of claim 7 wherein said resilient members are pneumatic and wherein a pneumatic control and pressurizing system is mounted in said battery compartment cage and cooperating with said resilient members for selective pressurizing of said resilient members.

19. The vehicle of claim 18 wherein said pressurizing selectively raises or lowers said chassis.

20. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein batteries are mounted both in said battery compartment cage and at least in part in said tunnels.

21. The vehicle claim 20 wherein a wiring harness extends between said cages and through at least one said tunnels.

22. The vehicle of claim 21 wherein said harness includes positive and negative cables and wherein said positive cables extend through one of said tunnels and said negative cables extend through the other of said tunnels. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein said electric drive motor includes a pair of electric drive motors and corresponding processors governing said drive motors, and wherein said pair of drive motors and said processors are mounted in said power cage.

The vehicle of claim 23 wherein said each cage is uniquely keyed to a corresponding bulkhead on said chassis.