![]() Some enthusiasts want to preserve the sound and rumble of older cars’ original engines. “There’s something satisfying about having a vintage car that has a carburetor,” he said, because it’s the same as when the car was new. He compared the current trend to the hot-rod movement of the 1950s.īut Klinger, who owns several vintage vehicles, said he doesn’t think electric motors will replace all internal combustion engines - especially when considering historically significant vehicles. So it’s not surprising to him that a small percentage of people converting classic cars to EVs are interested in improving performance. “Electric vehicles deliver some pretty astonishing performance just by the nature of the mechanics of how they work,” Klinger said. About 25% of respondents said they approve of classic vehicles being partially or fully converted to EVs. The respondents’ top three reasons for converting their vehicles were for faster acceleration and improved performance, for a fun and challenging project, and because of environmental and emissions concerns. About 1% had either partially or fully converted their classic to run on some sort of electrified drivetrain. In May, the Michigan-based company conducted a web-based survey of about 25,000 self-identified automobile enthusiasts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Jonathan Klinger, vice president of car culture for Hagerty, an insurance company and automotive lifestyle brand that specializes in collector vehicles, said converting classic cars into EVs is “definitely a trend,” although research on the practice is limited. “This was my way of taking the car that I like - my favorite body - and then taking the modern technology and performance, and mixing them together,” said Erickson, who has put about $60,000 into the project. ![]() He then embarked on a year-and-a-half-long project to convert the car into a 636-horsepower electric vehicle (475 kW), using battery packs, a motor and the entire rear subframe from a crashed Tesla Model S. ![]() It also invites curious stares at public charging stations, which are becoming increasingly common across the country.Īt the end of 2019, Erickson, a cargo pilot who lives in suburban Denver, bought the car for $6,500. “RC cars are fast, so that’s kind of a compliment really,” said Erickson, whose renamed ”Electrollite” accelerates to 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in three seconds and tops out at about 155 mph (249 kph). It’s electric.Įrickson is among a small but expanding group of tinkerers, racers, engineers and entrepreneurs across the country who are converting vintage cars and trucks into greener, and often much faster, electric vehicles.ĭespite derision from some purists about the converted cars resembling golf carts or remote-controlled cars, electric powertrain conversions are becoming more mainstream as battery technology advances and the world turns toward cleaner energy to combat climate change. Even though it’s nearly silent, the classic American muscle car isn’t broken.
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