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Modi Offers DIY Pius Electric Car Kit

Just a few years ago those of us who wanted an electric car had only two choices, either locate one of the few that survived the electric car crushing frenzy, or build your own. Very few people have the willingness to spend a year or so building an electric car, which meant very few DIY electric car conversions were ever made. Thanks to Modi Corp. a DIY kit, named the Pius, will be available in 2013 to build an electric car. Well, a micro-car, anyway. And, no, that's not a misspelling, Pius is the name of the kit.

The Pius electric car kit was designed by Modi Corp to allow anyone to learn how to build electric vehicles, and have hands-on experience with the technology. Speaking from experience, building an electric car conversion is a great way to learn about electric vehicle the technology first hand, but converting an electric car from scratch is daunting. The Pius kit comes with everything required to build an electric car from the ground up. You assemble the frame, suspension, wheels, cockpit, steering, rear view mirrors, electronics, wiring, drive train, and put the shell on.

However, while the Pius has four wheels, a steering wheel, and looks like a car, it is not quite what is normally called a car. First, it measures 98-inches long and 48-inches wide and seats a single person. In other words, it is extremely small for a car. Second, the Pius has an an electric range of 15 miles and a top speed of 21 mph. Before you say "kids toy," this is quite a bit faster than the typical kids electric car. Instead the Pius is designed to register in Japan as a class-1 motorized bicycle. If Japanese electric bicycle laws are like those in the U.S. it means the Pius can be driven in bicycle lanes, and does not require a drivers license.

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