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Home > Henney Kilowatt Electric Car - 1959-1960
Henney Kilowatt Electric Car - 1959-1960
Henney Kilowatt Electric Car
The Henney Kilowatt was a
project of National Union
Electric Company, a conglomerate
including Emerson Radio, and
Henney Motor Company, which had
purchased Eureka Williams in
1953. The project was initiated
by C. Russell Feldmann,
president of National Union
Electric Company and the Eureka
Williams Company. To build the
electric cars, he employed the
services of the Henney Motor
Company coachwork division of
Canastota, New York. Henney had
been building custom coaches
since 1868 and was a
well-recognized name in the
automotive industry because of
its affiliation with the Packard
Automobile Company. Henney
produced thousands of custom
built limousines, ambulances,
and hearses, before being
contracted to begin the Kilowatt
project. National Union Electric
Company was also the producer of
Exide Batteries—and naturally
had a vested interest in
shifting American automotive
focus from fossil fuels to
lead-cell batteries. Morrison
McMullan, Jr., controller of
Exide Batteries, was also a
participant in the development
of the Kilowatt.
Kilowatt Specifications
The 1959 models all ran on a 36-volt system of 18 sequential two-volt batteries.
The 36-volt cars had a top speed of 40 miles per hour and could run
approximately 40 miles on a full charge. After the 36-volt system was realized
to be impractical, the Kilowatt drivetrain was redesigned by Eureka Williams as
a 72-volt system for the 1960 model year. It employed 12 sequential six-volt
batteries. The 72-volt models were much more practical than the 1959 36-volt
models. The 1960 Kilowatt boasted a top speed of nearly 60 mph (97 km/h) with a
range of over 60 miles on a single charge. Although the Kilowatt is described by
some sources as "the first transistor-based electric car", the speed controller
uses a combination of relays and diodes to switch the batteries and motor
windings in different configurations for different speeds, not transistors.
Kilowatt Sales
According to the official Eureka Company corporate history profile there were a
total of 100 Henney Kilowatts manufactured during the entire two year production
run, but of those 100 cars only 47 were ever sold. A French Renault Dauphine
enthusiast website also states that a total of 100 rolling chassis were prepared
by Henney Coachworks for the project, but of those only 47 functional cars were
actually completed.
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