This guy knows how to save a classic Ferrari! Worlds first?

[smyvy]

I love my classics hate seeing them rot! I'm a huge fan of what this guy from California has done to save this Ferrari 308 by converting to electric! http://www.evperformance.co.uk/shock-system-drive-...

[4rephill]

Everybody knows that the heart and soul of any Ferrari is the engine - Without a Ferrari engine, you no longer have a Ferrari!

AS the great man himself once said:

[deltashad]

Agree with the aove post. Without a Ferrari engine it's not a Ferrari. The noise is surely one of the appealing aspects of these cars.

Good advert for the company though but wrong car.

[Pat H]

deltashad said:

The noise is surely one of the appealing aspects of these cars.

Oh I dunno.

I had a F328 a while ago and it was a bit of a shrieky thing. To be honest, I thought it sounded pants.

The rest of the car was absolutely lovely, but the engine really wasn't anything special.

An Alfa V6 sounds far nicer.

Anyway, hats off to the chap for building an electric Ferrari. It's not my scene at all, but it is an impressive effort.

[Yertis]

Another heretic here - I think the flat-plane V8 in the 308 sounds like a bucket of nails, but the car itself is thing of beauty, in fact probably the car I find most beautiful of all. I'd like an electric one alot.

[restoman]

That car fails on so many levels . . . . it's not even the Worlds 1st Electric Ferrari . . . .

[another 3 points]

How the locals must laugh when that 'drives' by.

[SykesAJ]

FANTASTIC IDEA!! What a great second-life to give something that was left to ruin. A Ferrari with an electric motor is better than a Ferrari with no motor.

I saw a business electrifying 2CVs and DS's, I bet that's a good pairing too. > http://www.everything-ev.com/index.php?main_page=p...

[daveco]

restoman said:

That car fails on so many levels . . . . it's not even the Worlds 1st Electric Ferrari . . . .

Nice Ferrari. What's the retail on one of those?

[PunterCam]

I think modern cars have lost the sound and rawness older cars had anyway. I don't hear any cars that sound exciting anymore. They're all so programmed and controlled - pops and bangs whenever you lift off (if you press the button).. Do what you want with them. But older cars.. Even if they're up on bricks or at the bottom of a field.. Leave them be. Fix them up properly, or don't.

I don't know if a 308 had a particularly good engine or not, but I don't think that matters. It will have had the smells, the feel, the excitement that cars from that era had. Don't lose that for a gimmick.

[renrut]

I still believe an electric supercar should sound like a tie-fighter screaming past. This is only acceptable if it was a case of the car being scrapped otherwise. Still probably less sacrilegious than dropping an LS in there as a lot of other yanks would do.

[j90gta]

I see that it has a range of 80 miles and no performance figures are quoted. Wonder how much the restoration/conversion cost. Driving a silent high-speed milk float is definitely not my idea of motoring fun, no matter how it's clothed!

[morgs_]

daveco said:

restoman said:

That car fails on so many levels . . . . it's not even the Worlds 1st Electric Ferrari . . . .

Nice Ferrari. What's the retail on one of those?

More than you can afford pal.

[DM525i]

An interesting one this, it's surely a good thing to have a car restored and back doing what it was intended to do. Is that a manual gearbox in the car? As for the sound, there might well be next to none but at least it is honest unlike the fake/assisted sounds that have been engineered into modern cars. Instead of an electric motor they could have fitted a diesel engine, what would everyone be moaning about then?

[hairyben]

Yertis said:

Another heretic here - I think the flat-plane V8 in the 308 sounds like a bucket of nails, but the car itself is thing of beauty, in fact probably the car I find most beautiful of all. I'd like an electric one alot.

It sounds nasty and dirty and untamed which is sort of what an old supercar should be....

the milk float spec above.. well if it was a burnt out shell it's his to do whatever he likes with, even if thats choosing to look like a massive lady part.

[Snubs]

My Dad used to own a 308GTS and i've had a drive myself. It was sold a while ago but from what I remember the engine sounded great, albeit it wasn't that quick by todays standards. It was the gearbox that could be a bit of a pig, particularly when cold. So i suppose an electric conversion would solve that at least...

Would i have wanted my Dad to replace the engine in his 308 with an electric motor? Not on your life. Not least because it doesn't match the era. I'd be more interested in seeing a third party convert a current gen Ferrari into a fully electric car.

Still, there's room in the world to try all sorts

[daveco]

morgs_ said:

daveco said:

restoman said:

That car fails on so many levels . . . . it's not even the Worlds 1st Electric Ferrari . . . .

Nice Ferrari. What's the retail on one of those?

More than you can afford pal.

*doffs cap*

[Dale487]

Electric Ferrari - to rescue an accident damaged one? Why not
- Ferrari themselves make a solely electric powered car? Never, well not at least while there is a single drop of petrol left

[PoopahScoopah]

DM525i said:

they could have fitted a diesel engine, what would everyone be moaning about then?

They'd be moaning about him fitting a diesel engine.

[TartanPaint]

I don't think whether or not it kills the spirit of the Ferrari. I'm sure if he'd found a different but equally suitable chassis at the right price, we'd be discussing that marque instead. It's just an electric car project, with a nice shell, and if you want to build an electric car, you could pick a worse starting point than saving a 308 from the crusher. Well done, says I!