Robert Q. Riley has finished designing and building his XR3 diesel hybrid prototype and now says, "Its your turn!". Yes, with a few simple tools and plans purchased from Mr. Riley, you too can (eventually) cruise the highways in your very own XR3. Engineered to travel 40 miles with lithium ion batteries powering the back wheel before switching on the Kubota diesel engine that power the fronts, the XR3 is said by its maker to get 225 mpg. The beauty of a DIY project like this is that you can do a lot of tweaking. That diesel motor could just as easily be made to run on WVO or some other biofuel. Of course, you could forgo the combustion engine (and tractor sound) altogether and add more batteries. Likewise, you can save a big chunk of the initial cost and only install the diesel.

If the thought of doing all that fiberglass work and metal fabrication seems a little daunting for your mechanical skill level, we have good news for you. During a recent interview on EVcast, the designer/engineer let slip that RQR Enterprises is now working with a kit car company to supply the some of the more difficult bits to save you time and a lot of swearing effort. Of course, you'll still have to add lots of parts yourself but if it came completely assembled you'd miss out on that extra bit of pride that comes from completing a project of this type. Mr. Riley estimates it may cost upwards of $25,000 to build the whole kit and kaboodle on your own. Hit the jump for video of the XR3 on the streets.





[Source: Robert Q. Riley Enterprises]

I'm wondering if my skills at assembling Ikea furniture will be useful for the SUNN. The SUNN is a solar electric car in a kit that can apparently be assembled in your garage in four or five days. The kit includes everything that you need except the batteries and solar panels which have to be locally sourced to save you a bundle on shipping. Solar panels and batteries are heavy and thus expensive to ship.

Don't expect Tesla-like performance, however. Sunn's maximum speed is rated at 25 mph. If used without solar panels, you will be able to drive for 20 miles. Plug-in the solar panels and you will get extra 3 miles from the hood and 14 from the roof panels. That's 34 miles.

According to the website, this can be classified as a NEV in the U. S., which makes it legal if you register it. The manufacturer supplies you with the Manufacturers Certificates of Origin for all of the major components. Full specs and video after the jump.

The creators of this contraption could sure use some lessons in industrial design from Apple, or even the creators of the first generation Zune for that matter. However part of the beauty of this bike is that you can actually modify the design since you build it yourself. Atomic Zombie sells the plans for $14.99 online. You then track down the necessary parts, practice your welding skills and bolt in some batteries. The three-battery design shown has a 62 mile range. You could easily modify the design of the frame to accommodate different batteries or even equal sized wheels. It's not pretty but it will get you where you're going quietly and cleanly. You can check out a video of the LongRanger in action after the jump.

[Source: AtomicZombie]