Okay – the car may not be new. But there's still room for the 50 screwdrivers, right where the Lada's engine would otherwise have been.
Electric car built with 50 screwdrivers in Russia
The popular Russian YouTube channel Garage 54, known for their, to say the least, unusual car projects, has taken on something new.
The Russians have built the electric car out of an old Lada (what else, ed.) But the most remarkable thing is that the engine is actually nothing more than a screwdriver. There are 50 of them.
The team behind it, led by Alexei, faced several challenges in the process. First and foremost, they had to lengthen the body of the Lada to make room for the unusual engine. This required precise measurements and adjustments to ensure the car could still drive.
Then came the complex work of synchronizing the 55 screwdrivers so that they all worked together as one unit.
Inspired by the principles behind aircraft engines, the Russians managed to get all the screwdrivers to start simultaneously by pressing one button.
But the challenges didn't stop there. When they finally started the now-assembled engine for the first time, the entire cabin filled with smoke. This turned out to be a problem that required further adjustments and solutions.
When the smoke had subsided and it didn't come back, it was time for the first test drive. The electric car, now with a unique motor made of screwdrivers, according to the Russians, effortlessly cut through a snow-covered industrial area in Russia.
Alexei described it as a "full-fledged electric car", noting that the screwdrivers 'provide a surprising amount of motor power'.
Although it was difficult to calculate the exact number of horsepower in the new engine, Alexei encouraged viewers to come up with their own calculations in the comments.
The project was another success for Garage 54. At least it can run. But then again – these are the same people who made a Lada Samara run on manhole covers.
Lada is generally Garage 54's preferred starting point. Although they have also frozen an old BMW 3 Series and got the car running again.
That said, the old Lada isn't the first electric car to come from Russia. In 2023, some people from the Technical University in the country's capital, Moscow, developed what could be a more 'pure' electric car.
The problem is that it's as ugly as a bad year. Plans for an actual series production never got any further than talk. Read more about it here .
