Electrifying Classic Cars
Discussion
Furyblade_Lee said:
Has anyone ever driven an EV and thought " You know what, I fancy getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning and taking one of these to the coast blatting just for the hell of it?"............. I haven't.
I'm not even trying to be contrary when I say... Yes. Yes I have thought about it and would do it. A leisurely, late summer or autumn morning drive, wafting along in a silent convertible and hearing the sounds of the countryside? Yup, that may sound poncy to some but it sounds pretty appealing to me.
I love engine noise. I'd never want everything in my garage to be electric, that wouldn't appeal at all. But as Blib says, electric cars just have a different kind of soul, no better or worse than their petrol counterparts.
A Model 3 appeals to me for certain reason and in certain ways. An electric classic appeals to me in different ways for different reasons. A petrol sports car, again, different reasons to own one. Any future garage will most certainly have an electric car in it, and I can easily envisage it not being the 'shopping' car.
Furyblade_Lee said:
Has anyone ever driven an EV and thought " You know what, I fancy getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning and taking one of these to the coast blatting just for the hell of it?"............. I haven't. And have been in a Ludicrous Tesla.
I can see the attraction as a talking point or travelling through London in an EV classic, BUT the reason we drive classics for the all round experience and smells, gear change, engine noise, power delivery, fiddling, making them electric removes 90% of the attraction??
To be fair, would you do that with any modern grocery getting car, EV or otherwise? Converting a classic to EV is a new thing and to me its not yet clear what kind of buzz I'd get from one but sure, I'd probably want to take a EV'd MG or something for a blat if the weather was nice.I can see the attraction as a talking point or travelling through London in an EV classic, BUT the reason we drive classics for the all round experience and smells, gear change, engine noise, power delivery, fiddling, making them electric removes 90% of the attraction??
Harry's review of the new electric mini illustrates that modern EV's are too heavy to be fun. Mini have gone the other way and he genuinely enjoyed blasting around in it. Maybe that's where converted classics will excel? Light weight, fun to drive EVs.
Furyblade_Lee said:
Has anyone ever driven an EV and thought " You know what, I fancy getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning and taking one of these to the coast blatting just for the hell of it?"............. I haven't. And have been in a Ludicrous Tesla.
I can see the attraction as a talking point or travelling through London in an EV classic, BUT the reason we drive classics for the all round experience and smells, gear change, engine noise, power delivery, fiddling, making them electric removes 90% of the attraction??
As you've probably read above, we own an electric 1970 500 and a 964. I can see the attraction as a talking point or travelling through London in an EV classic, BUT the reason we drive classics for the all round experience and smells, gear change, engine noise, power delivery, fiddling, making them electric removes 90% of the attraction??
I've taken them both out for "blasts" in the past week and I've enjoyed both of them equally.
They are completely different machines and of course, they give completely different driving experiences.
But I would suggest that most on here would get out of the 500 wearing a child like grin. It's a really willing little car, eager to please.
No, the 500 won't take a corner like my 964. But, it gives me the impression that it would if it could!
Great fun!
fatbutt said:
To be fair, would you do that with any modern grocery getting car, EV or otherwise? Converting a classic to EV is a new thing and to me its not yet clear what kind of buzz I'd get from one but sure, I'd probably want to take a EV'd MG or something for a blat if the weather was nice.
Harry's review of the new electric mini illustrates that modern EV's are too heavy to be fun. Mini have gone the other way and he genuinely enjoyed blasting around in it. Maybe that's where converted classics will excel? Light weight, fun to drive EVs.
If I didn’t own some old cars then I would jump to the conclusion that I had lost interest in cars. I just can’t be bothered with them. I don’t find them exciting, I don’t feel rewarded by the way they drive, I tend not to like the company of the people you tend to have to do business with when you own one. Harry's review of the new electric mini illustrates that modern EV's are too heavy to be fun. Mini have gone the other way and he genuinely enjoyed blasting around in it. Maybe that's where converted classics will excel? Light weight, fun to drive EVs.
At the back end of last year I decided to buy a new car for general family duties. The plan was to mix great performance with 4 usable seats. I was thinking about a Rapide, Continental, Grancabrio, even the new Portofino. Somewhere that was nice to sit, great at plodding along but easy to have fun in when the moment arose. What I realised was that I really wasn’t excited by any of them. I found I was emotionless as I headed to the test drive, found them utterly boring to drive anywhere close to the speed limit, found them big cars that you had to stop for oncoming traffic for on a lot of roads. Any excitement came from the exhaust note and acceleration for those brief moments you could use them. 99% of the time they were merely sensory deprived transport devices. There was no way I’d ever interrupt my sleep to go and use one. They just felt like A to B cars where B would never equal A. I would say half of that was down to my age but half was down to the intense sensory depravation of the products. I found myself thinking I might as well buy a Mondeo and so went looking at fast estates and ended up with a 340 because it was small enough to not have to stop on the lanes, I didn’t have to program it like a ZX81 to use it and the real killer app that made it stand alone, head and shoulders above all other fast estates: It had a 20th century hand brake!!!
Amonst the BMW, Merc, Audi and Jag test drives I tried a Tesla S again. I could really see why they are so popular among old men for sitting on motorways. Once you’re over the comedy acceleration they really are uninspiring. Too big for the lanes and with understeer worse than early 90s Audi’s. Modern cars are simply so well made, so luxurious, so sound deadened with all mechanical feel so isolated from the controller that Indont think what powers them, whether diesel, petrol or electric, they just don’t inspire you to cut into your sleeping hours. The right classic does. It doesn’t matter what is propelling it you are still connected to the steering, you can feel the key parts of the car working and the silence of the electric motor will not just being a new driving experience but amplify the sensory reward of all the other parts of the car.
The modern EV I remain interested in trying is the Morgan 3 wheeler. The sole purpose of which would be to use when it’s just you and the deer on the roads.
Yertis said:
[shudder] My nightmare, having seen what happened when a deer came through the windscreen of my BiL's 309Gti.
My driveway is over 3/4 of a mile long, through a lovely wooded area, and the white-tailed deer inhabit here. Had a few close shaves morning/evening, so now I take it very very easy as they always seem to jump across at the last second!Yertis said:
DonkeyApple said:
... deer on the roads.
[shudder] My nightmare, having seen what happened when a deer came through the windscreen of my BiL's 309Gti.DonkeyApple said:
The two biggest hazzards out here are deers and dears. Neither have any common sense and can easily be found in the middle of the road any time of day. On the plus side, a Yaris is a little less likely to come through the windscreen.
Haven't heard that one before, is that a DonkeyApple original? 
DonkeyApple said:
...............
At the back end of last year I decided to buy a new car for general family duties. The plan was to mix great performance with 4 usable seats. I was thinking about a Rapide, Continental, Grancabrio, even the new Portofino. Somewhere that was nice to sit, great at plodding along but easy to have fun in when the moment arose. What I realised was that I really wasn’t excited by any of them. I found I was emotionless as I headed to the test drive, found them utterly boring to drive anywhere close to the speed limit, found them big cars that you had to stop for oncoming traffic for on a lot of roads. Any excitement came from the exhaust note and acceleration for those brief moments you could use them. 99% of the time they were merely sensory deprived transport devices. There was no way I’d ever interrupt my sleep to go and use one. They just felt like A to B cars where B would never equal A. I would say half of that was down to my age but half was down to the intense sensory depravation of the products. I found myself thinking I might as well buy a Mondeo and so went looking at fast estates and ended up with a 340 because it was small enough to not have to stop on the lanes, I didn’t have to program it like a ZX81 to use it and the real killer app that made it stand alone, head and shoulders above all other fast estates: It had a 20th century hand brake!!! Amonst the BMW, Merc, Audi and Jag test drives I tried a Tesla S again. I could really see why they are so popular among old men for sitting on motorways. Once you’re over the comedy acceleration they really are uninspiring. Too big for the lanes and with understeer worse than early 90s Audi’s.
Modern cars are simply so well made, so luxurious, so sound deadened with all mechanical feel so isolated from the controller that Indont think what powers them, whether diesel, petrol or electric, they just don’t inspire you to cut into your sleeping hours. The right classic does. It doesn’t matter what is propelling it you are still connected to the steering, you can feel the key parts of the car working and the silence of the electric motor will not just being a new driving experience but amplify the sensory reward of all the other parts of the car.
The modern EV I remain interested in trying is the Morgan 3 wheeler. The sole purpose of which would be to use when it’s just you and the deer on the roads.
As I mentioned in the 992 Turbo S thread :At the back end of last year I decided to buy a new car for general family duties. The plan was to mix great performance with 4 usable seats. I was thinking about a Rapide, Continental, Grancabrio, even the new Portofino. Somewhere that was nice to sit, great at plodding along but easy to have fun in when the moment arose. What I realised was that I really wasn’t excited by any of them. I found I was emotionless as I headed to the test drive, found them utterly boring to drive anywhere close to the speed limit, found them big cars that you had to stop for oncoming traffic for on a lot of roads. Any excitement came from the exhaust note and acceleration for those brief moments you could use them. 99% of the time they were merely sensory deprived transport devices. There was no way I’d ever interrupt my sleep to go and use one. They just felt like A to B cars where B would never equal A. I would say half of that was down to my age but half was down to the intense sensory depravation of the products. I found myself thinking I might as well buy a Mondeo and so went looking at fast estates and ended up with a 340 because it was small enough to not have to stop on the lanes, I didn’t have to program it like a ZX81 to use it and the real killer app that made it stand alone, head and shoulders above all other fast estates: It had a 20th century hand brake!!!
Amonst the BMW, Merc, Audi and Jag test drives I tried a Tesla S again. I could really see why they are so popular among old men for sitting on motorways. Once you’re over the comedy acceleration they really are uninspiring. Too big for the lanes and with understeer worse than early 90s Audi’s. Modern cars are simply so well made, so luxurious, so sound deadened with all mechanical feel so isolated from the controller that Indont think what powers them, whether diesel, petrol or electric, they just don’t inspire you to cut into your sleeping hours. The right classic does. It doesn’t matter what is propelling it you are still connected to the steering, you can feel the key parts of the car working and the silence of the electric motor will not just being a new driving experience but amplify the sensory reward of all the other parts of the car.
The modern EV I remain interested in trying is the Morgan 3 wheeler. The sole purpose of which would be to use when it’s just you and the deer on the roads.
"Not sure if helpful, but Harry has had one out and about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFbUCmu73MQ
Don't get me wrong - love a 911.
Totally get the point and purpose of the Turbo, and big want.
But on the flipside. Watching him demonstrates the large irrelevance of what is a Supercar and Hypercar.
Great county lanes, places to drive, (and I know he does not want to be seen heinously lawbreaking on a camera) but every tweak he did, every squirt of the pedal, gave at max4 seconds before dialling it back down, turning off all the settings etc.
I was very fortunate to have a ride in a P1 back when it was new to a friend.
Pottering around I goaded him to 'go on. give it the fking beans.'
We hurtled to the horizon like a bullet from a rifle from I would guess 45 to probably 120 in a flash. Giggle out loud stuff. But within seconds, it was a matter of hugely illegal speeds, and caught up with the next car.
It made me wonder, would the ownership, and driving of the car be much fun in reality ???
Love 911, and the Turbo, but it is all rather irrelevant.
The cars have moved on massively. The roads haven't. the volume of road users and chances to now use, must extrapolate to what is probably a matter of being able to 'use 20% of the car capacity' versus a decade ago of enjoying 80%."
The modern machine is irrelevant in the quest for outright power. Its unusable, unnecessary and unfulfilling in ownership on the whole (I suspect?)
singlecoil said:
I've thought for a long time that the pleasure of owning a fast car is just that, the pleasure has to come from the ownership. Driving it on the road is just an exercise in frustration.
There's a lot of joy to be had in thraping a low-powered, highly-analogue car to its limits and beyond. I'm seriously considering an MG Midget right now for that reason. Or perhaps a Smart Roadster (if I can find any way of sorting out the awful gearbox). If I had anywhere to store it, a Morgan 3-wheeler would likewise be high on the list.singlecoil said:
I've thought for a long time that the pleasure of owning a fast car is just that, the pleasure has to come from the ownership. Driving it on the road is just an exercise in frustration.
We may well be alone as I think many people still dream of owning something stupidly fast. I also don’t think I ever an overwhelming desire in the first instance. I’ve often said on PH over the years that I thought it was far more fun and exciting to throw a 2CV down a lane twice than any supercar. Years ago I drove a V10 M5 estate through France andnit was a mindblowingly brilliant car. Upon my return I decided to buy one. Went for two test drives and spent both either pottering behind traffic or realising that what was sane on a wide, open French country road was monumentally bloody stupid in the South of England.
I had the same sort of issue when I decided to buy an estate again. I started with the RS4, C63 and XFR. The 340 I ended up with is a step down on the performance stakes but I was just buying a shopping , A to B car and all it needed was to be fast enough to not be held up by the garden centre aisle cloggers who are legion in the Cotswolds.
Modern fast cars are so brilliant that you have to be travelling at totally unacceptable speeds to obtain any fairground thrills. But you can get those thrills with an old, slow car.
The key for me is that if your car can be rewarding to drive at 40 then the zombie garden centre purveyors can’t rob you so easily of your small window of pleasure outside of work and family commitments. Few classics have the performance to pass an angry old man who has been weaponised with a hugely powerful turbo diesel so that when he floors itnupon noticing your overtake he can for the first time in history be in a car that responds.
I quite fancy a Baur 2002.
DonkeyApple said:
Modern fast cars are so brilliant that you have to be travelling at totally unacceptable speeds to obtain any fairground thrills. But you can get those thrills with an old, slow car.
The key for me is that if your car can be rewarding to drive at 40 then the zombie garden centre purveyors can’t rob you so easily of your small window of pleasure outside of work and family commitments. Few classics have the performance to pass an angry old man who has been weaponised with a hugely powerful turbo diesel so that when he floors itnupon noticing your overtake he can for the first time in history be in a car that responds.
Which leads us back to the full circle - Older cars, smaller, more compact and easy to pedal down a road - with squirt like acceleration and reliability to start on the button (literally) is the answer : Electrifying Classic cars.The key for me is that if your car can be rewarding to drive at 40 then the zombie garden centre purveyors can’t rob you so easily of your small window of pleasure outside of work and family commitments. Few classics have the performance to pass an angry old man who has been weaponised with a hugely powerful turbo diesel so that when he floors itnupon noticing your overtake he can for the first time in history be in a car that responds.
fatbutt said:
Seen this? https://lunaz.design/production/jaguar-xk120
I think they started with old Rollers, which if you think about it are perfect for electrification because they were built to be as quiet, smooth and unsmelly as possible and an electric motor suddenly achieves that in spades. Plus the size of the cars makes burying those Victorian bricks much easier and much less intrusive on the driving experience. The 120 is a more difficult one because the engine does form part of the character more strongly but there’s no great shortage of XKs and the engine transplant like all good engine transplants delivers and entirely new dynamic and experience.
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