Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus 1900 electric car with range extender

The Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus (“always alive”) was developed by Ferdinand Porsche when he combined his battery powered wheel hub drive with a petrol engine – the principle of the serial hybrid drive had been born.
In this vehicle, two generators connected with petrol engines formed a single charging unit, simultaneously supplying electricity to the wheel hub motors and batteries. As a full hybrid concept, the Semper Vivus was also able to cover a distance purely on battery power until  the combustion engine had to be engaged as charging station. To save weight and create space for a petrol engine, Ferdinand Porsche used comparatively small battery in the Semper Vivus with a mere 44 cells. He installed two water cooled 3,5 hp (2,6 kW) De Dion Bouton petrol engines for generating electricity.

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