Last updated on May 7th, 2021 at 10:45 pm
You’ve dropped £30,000 on your classic car conversion. What might you expect at the end? Well, both Drummond and Morgan stress that the EV will be a lot more reliable than the original. Electrogenic’s conversions come with a two-year parts and labour warranty, although this doesn’t apply to damage caused by abuse. The company is also now fitting custom circuitry for remote diagnostics. The EV will also be much quieter, although both companies stress that they deliberately don’t soundproof so you get to hear the whirr of the electric motor. Some might miss the roar of a V8 and throaty exhaust, which could be a downside, but many won’t – particularly if you’ve created a vehicle for city usage.
The upgraded car is likely to be a little heavier than the original. Drummond says a Beetle with 5 Tesla batteries is about 20kg heavier than the donor with a full tank of petrol, and with 7 batteries it would be 70 or 80kg heavier. But as some of this is at the front, driving dynamics is improved, and this will be the case with a lot of conversions where the batteries are placed at the back, so weight can be much more evenly distributed. Power will also be considerably improved. A 1.5 litre Beetle from 1970 had 43bhp; a Hyper 9 motor has 120bhp.
As a result, performance is likely to be a lot better. Even the basic Fiat 500 conversion will provide 0-60mph between 8 and 10 seconds. If you’ve driven a basic EV like a Nissan Leaf, you’ll also realise that 0-30mph is amazing in pretty much any EV, which is exactly what you need around town. Even without going for a direct drive Tesla option, two Hyper 9 motors will provide 240bhp, which will give most classic vehicles a major upgrade in horsepower. Even with the original gearing intact, delivery will be a lot smoother because of the constant torque curve of electric engines compared to internal combustion.
It’s worth noting that classic conversions often leave the original brakes alone, which may sound like a worry if the donor car had old-fashioned drum brakes. However, the regenerative breaking from the electric system will mean that the braking is actually much better in practice.
The final thing to consider is range. Apart from the 200kWh Land Rover Defender mentioned above, and the 159kW VW van, most classics won’t provide the kind or 300-mile range we’re starting to see from the best premium EVs. A simple city-oriented Fiat 500 or Mini conversion might offer 50-100 miles of range, and a larger classic with more batteries could get towards 200 miles, but that’s probably the limit without adding too much weight and losing all practical storage space. But that should be more than enough for metropolitan transport or a daily commute, even if a tour of Wales or Scotland might need serious thought given to strategic charging stops.
Another Tesla powered Defender rolls on electrons for the first time. So quiet you can hear our brave cameraman breathing. #rollingelectrons #tesla #teslapowered #electriclandrover #electricdefender #electriccarconversion pic.twitter.com/HcPd4m2Xba
— Electric Classic Cars (@elecclassiccars) May 14, 2020
There’s no doubt that electrifying a classic is an incredibly fun idea. It may not be a budget way to EV ownership. You need to be a classic car lover first, as Electrogenic’s Drummond particularly emphasises. But it’s also not so exorbitant either. Where £35,000 might get you a Hyundai Ioniq Electric with very little driving pleasure, it could also get a classic VW Beetle EV conversion with similar range, perhaps better performance, and a real sense of occasion every time you get in it – all without the fear that it might not start or will break down that the original air-cooled classic would have given.
Both ECC and Electrogenic have some very exciting-sounding vehicles in the workshop right now. Electrogenic is converting a TVR Cerbera to offer 0-60mph in under 3 seconds using “secret sauce” batteries from a fighter jet, about which Drummond wouldn’t tell us anymore. ECC is working on a Lotus 7 with the aim of a similar 0-60mph capability. In fact, ECC has 18 cars currently in the workshop and 42 in the queue waiting to be started. These include a DeLorean, although we suspect ECC won’t be fitting time travel capabilities. There’s a Maserati Ghibli from 1967, a BMW Isetta, a Jaguar and a Mercedes, and even a Gordon-Keeble, which is an obscure 1960's British brand you’ve probably never heard of before.
There were only 100 Gordon-Keebles produced in the first place, so an electrified version will be one of the most unique vehicles in the world. This truly epitomises what electrifying a classic car is all about – having a singular driving experience that’s also ecologically sound, practical, convenient, and fun. It also recycles not only the donor car but the Tesla batteries as well. If you’re a classic car lover and have a bit of disposable money to spend, it’s a recommended project to try.
Electric Classic Cars is featured in an episode of Vintage Voltage, which is out in the UK on Quest in June 2020, or you can buy episodes of the series on Amazon Prime Video US or MotorTrend.
A preview of ECC’s work can be viewed on Vintage Voltage Conversions’ YouTube channel.
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