You gotta admire the gumption of a small suburban Cincinnati outfit called Amp Electric Vehicles. They saw a vacancy in the green-vehicle market -- electric crossover SUVs -- and just decided to fill it, with no direct cooperation from a major manufacturer. They figured they'd begin by picking a popular vehicle that already achieves state-of-the-art fuel economy (Chevrolet's four-cylinder Equinox), as it probably already has pretty optimal weight, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance. Starting with a fully homologated and crash-tested vehicle also sidesteps a ton of development and testing work. Then "all" Amp has to do is rip out the drivetrain, fuel, and exhaust systems, and replace them with electric components. Plug-n-play, right?

Well, there's quite a bit more to it than that. But the choice of a four-cylinder Equinox simplified matters because Chevy uses electric power steering and a climate control system with full electronic control, allowing Amp to tap in and switch on its electric compressor whenever the interior sensors demand A/C, or electrically warm the coolant if the sensors demand heat. The trickier bit is fooling the elaborate onboard electronics and engine misfire detection systems into not noticing that the entire engine is indeed "missing." Actually, an engine code was flashing on the screen in the prototype I drove in Detroit, but the engineers are convinced they can make it go away for good.

Sitting up front, where the 2.4-liter direct-injected 182-hp engine was, is 2/3 of the 700-pound 37 kW-hr lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack. The remaining third gets packaged beneath the rear seat, where the gas tank was. The battery cells are supplied by an as-yet-unnamed Chinese source, but they're assembled into the packs by Amp. The less-expensive chemistry and self-assembly is said to help dramatically lower the $500/kW-hr assumed price of Li-ion batteries. While iron-phosphate chemistry doesn't pack the energy density of fancier lithium batteries, it is said to be inherently safer and less prone to "thermal events" brought on by rapid charging and discharging (the pack is air-cooled, and the batteries function fine up to 131 degrees F). They also pose no risk if punctured or crushed. The pack has UL and CE approval.

The Electric Equinox becomes rear-drive, using two permanent magnet AC motors by Remy (of Delco-Remy, not Remy-Martin fame). Each produces 110 peak/80 continuous horsepower. These oil-cooled motors are the ones used in GM's Two-Mode hybrid transmission, so they're obviously automotive grade. The motors are mounted to the frame and drive the wheels directly through a fixed planetary gear set. They are controlled separately to provide the function of a differential, but they are not yet being used for torque vectoring.

Chassis modifications are minimal. The rear springs are uprated to a higher-spec standard GM parts in order to shoulder their greater load, though Amp claims the front/rear weight bias only changes by one percentage point (presumably to 54/46 percent). The hydraulic braking system is left untouched, with regenerative braking alone occurring at the very top of the pedal travel. The system therefore retains its anti-lock functionality, but Amp's onboard electronics have not yet asserted control over the ABS system for traction and stability control functions.

Performance? Subtracting the weight of the gas-engine components leaves a net increase of 300 pounds, to around 4100-4300 depending on optional equipment, but with all that hole-shot torque at zero rpm, 0-60 mph is said to take 7 seconds or less. That's at least a couple seconds quicker than our best four-cylinder Equinox/Terrain test cars have managed. Top speed is limited to 88 mph. Range measures 150 miles on the notoriously unrepresentative LA4 driving cycle, and Amp admits 120 miles is a much more realistic figure. Recharging via 30-amp 220-volt service, using the SAE J1772 plug and 5-kW onboard charger, is said to take about four hours (12 hours using the 110-volt option).

So how does it drive? Juice it good coming out of a turn and you can get a whiff of wheelspin-induced oversteer with no torque steer, as the front wheels are no longer asked to provide any pull. Beyond that, the drive is like most any EV, with urgent acceleration from rest that tapers off as speed builds. There's maybe a bit more audible electric motor whine than is noticeable in fully fledged cars like Nissan's Leaf, but it's still quieter than a four-cylinder Equinox.

The biggest bummer is that, as a green car, the Amp Electric Equinox provides virtually no driver infotainment pertaining to driving-style optimization. Remember, Amp tried not to touch the existing interior, so the only thing it has managed to do is drive the tachometer as a kilowatt-use meter. But without changing the scale, energy in and energy out are both indicated in positive swings of the needle. The refresh rate is also REALLY slow, like once a second, and the precision seems low, so the needle sort of jumps in whole kilowatt increments, and it doesn't always come back to zero before leaping up to reflect regen kilowatts. The fuel gauge now reflects range remaining.

Amp reckons it can perform the conversion and sell a complete Electric Equinox, with a 3-year/36,000-mile drivetrain warranty and an 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranty, for $47,000. At the moment, the Feds don't see the Amp Electric Equinox as a "new electric vehicle" that qualifies for a federal rebate like the Volt, but they're working on that.

I'm not sure what sort of sugar-daddy, tax-write-off-needing parent company may be footing the development bill here, but that's just $23,510 above the price of a stripper base Equinox. Even if the self-assembled battery comes in at $400/kilowatt-hour, that's $14,800 of the difference, leaving just $8710 (plus whatever salvage value Amp get out of the drivetrain coming out) with which to buy the Remy motors, the Tecumseh A/C unit, the heater, the controller, wiring, springs, etc. -- not to mention pay the salaries of the guys who've been developing this project for four years. My personal belief is that all of this work (and similar projects converting Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters into EVs) is being done to attract an OE partner, the way Azure Dynamics lured Ford into collaborating on the Transit Connect. The whole business case and development plan become infinitely simpler when a manufacturer cooperates by providing "glider" rolling chassis, opening the CAN bus codes for easier integration, etc.

Then again, the first six models are being converted for fleet customers, and one possible market niche alluded to was retrofitting depreciated fleet vehicles. If a fleet operator can keep the used drivetrains for parts to keep the rest of his fleet running while cashing in on available incentives for businesses converting to green vehicles, there may be a business case. We'll keep a close eye on Amp for further developments.