Last updated on June 2nd, 2023 at 11:24 am
Best Classic Car EV Conversion: AVA Croxford Defender
Classic car conversions are always controversial, but it’s hard to argue with the worth of the AVA Croxford Defender. This vehicle is based on a 2015 Land Rover Defender, but it’s much more than just electrification. The conversion is intended to tell the story of a British Army veteran injured in combat, Stuart Croxford. He lost part of his leg as a result of injuries sustained during service in Afghanistan.
The Croxford Defender is inspired by Croxford’s military background and motifs, including colours based on army Land Rovers and the livery from his regiment. It’s no ordinary conversion, either. It’s powered by a Tesla Large drive unit with 450hp and 450Nm of torque, powering all four wheels via the vehicle’s original all-wheel drive transmission. It can hit 60mph in about five seconds, which is bonkers for a huge boxy Land Rover. It also has 90kWh of batteries so can still manage around 200 miles of driving.
The interior is sumptuously appointed, with Recaro seats and a luxurious finish all round. It’s a beautiful one-off, but one that also has an amazing story to tell about its inspiration. The AVA Croxford Defender is a past and future classic you could drive every day without damaging the environment.
Read our feature about AVA’s Croxford Defender.
Honourable Mentions: Everrati 911 (964) Gulf Signature Edition, Electrogenic Land Rover Electrification Kit
The 911 is an icon, and although Porsches have a well-deserved reputation for mechanical reliability, the most classic earlier versions aren’t necessarily vehicles you’d want to drive every day. Everrati wanted to give you the best of both worlds, so it has taken a late 1980s / early 1990s 964 911 and electrified it. Adding a motor up to 500bhp, the new version can sprint to 62mph in under 4 seconds but still has a useful range of 180 miles. The balance is improved over the original, including a Quaife ATB torque biasing differential and a net weight that is around 30kg lighter than the original. Power delivery is brutal, and there is even an exhaust pipe audio system to replace the boxer six soundtrack. The Everrati 911 (964) costs an absolute fortune at over £200,000, but in Gulf Edition livery it’s an occasion to drive every time you get inside. The performance is another step up from the original, yet it looks and even sounds on point for the period. It’s a classic 911 without the niggles.
For our other honourable mention, Electrogenic is one of the UK’s top electric classic car convertors, and in the last year the company has been working on a drop-in kit to electrify Land Rovers. It’s the diametric opposite of the AVA Croxford Defender, though, because it’s not about an exceptional one-off, but a kit that can take any working vehicle that has already had a life and electrify that in a cost-effective way to deliver cheaper, more environmentally positive running and many more years of service. Electrogenic’s Land Rover kit has been on test at Worthy Farm, home of the Glastonbury Festival. It is now rolling out commercially, enabling a £25,000 switch of a farm vehicle to electric. Compared to buying a new Land Rover, it’s very cost effective.
Read our review of the Everrati 911 (964) Gulf Signature Edition and our feature about Electrogenic.
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