Why are electric cars able to deliver power instantly, but gas engines take more time to build up power?
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How combustion engines get their power:
A cloud of gasoline is set fire to in a confined space with a piston on top. It causes the gas to expand, push the piston away.
That’s the basic operation of getting mechanical power out of an engine. If you do it more often, you get more power.
So, when a gas engine is turning at 6000 rpm, it has more or less access to twice the power as at 3000 rpm. Of course, as speed increases, you need to push harder against the wind and the inherent inefficiency of the car itself. But the power increase is initially higher than the resistance increase, leading to the feeling that you’re getting more power the faster you go. To a point.
How electric car get their power:
The stator moves an electrical charge around the rotor, causing it to spin. How big that electrical charge is depends on the power rating of the engine (the size of the wiring). It cares not how fast the engine is spinning.
So, as you accelerate, and you need to fight more against the wind and the ball bearings and tyres, it will feel as if you have less power available. Electric cars get max-torque at startup, when there is basically no force fighting back.
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