Electric Motor Power: 180 HP & Car Fitment

[QAT]

The first question, is their any electric motor (ac/dc) that has 180 horsepower and can fit comfortabley in a car. Second question, (if no for the first question disregard this one) how much power would be needed to power it, amps and voltage.

 

[berkeman]

The first question, is their any electric motor (ac/dc) that has 180 horsepower and can fit comfortabley in a car. Second question, (if no for the first question disregard this one) how much power would be needed to power it, amps and voltage.

The Tesla electric car comes to mind:

http://www.teslamotors.com/roadster/technology

The Roadster is powered by a 3-Phase Alternating Current Induction Motor. Small, but strong, the motor weighs just over 115 pounds. 375 volts push up to 900 Amps of current into the motor to create magnetic fields. It delivers 288 peak horsepower and 295 lbs-ft of torque at the driver's command. At top speed, the motor is spinning at 14,000 revolutions per minute.

 

[Wetmelon]

Note that one horsepower = 745.699872 Watts (according to Google Calculator, anyway.) This means that if you need 180 HP, you are looking at a 135 kW output electric motor, to give you an idea of what you need :)

The Tesla one would be 288 hp, which is 215 kw. That means you need more power than that to actually spin the motor, if I'm not mistaken. According to 375V, 900A, 3 phase AC, that's... 550kW? That seems high...