Photo: Auto Evolution
The Tesla Model Y is one of Tesla’s best-selling electric vehicles (EVs), and while the Long Range variant of the SUV boasts 326 miles (525 km) of range, one European country has decided to use gas to help boost the vehicle’s range.
A new Tesla Model Y range extension conversion called the HyperHybrid Mark II, surfaced from Austrian company The Obrist Group at IAA Mobility conference in Munich, Germany, according to AutoEvolution.
Oddly enough, the company swaps the original Tesla battery and motors out for a smaller battery, with a twin-cylinder engine that keeps the battery charged and produces 23 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.
Photo: AutoEvolution
The HyperHybrid Mark II adds about 96 kilometers (60 miles) of range to the Tesla Model Y, according to ratings from the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).
Interestingly, the conversion also reduces the weight of the Model Y by nearly 250 kilograms (551 pounds), while using about 2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (117.6 miles per gallon).
Photo: AutoEvolution
While the company mentions a synthetic fuel that offers a negative CO2 output of -24 grams per kilometer, it’s also hard to say what companies would meaningfully invest in synthetic fuels anyway.
The news comes just weeks after Tesla debuted the Model Y in Europe, as imported from the company’s Gigafactory Shanghai.
Along with hitting European markets for the first time, the Tesla Model Y was also registered in Israel, signalling the company’s incoming launch of the electric SUV within the country.
