Electric conversion of a 1970s Targa

[andyP123456]

Came across this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJLdzRJdKrs

If the link doesn’t work search on 911 EV conversion. This has been done by a small company in Wales

https://www.electricclassiccars.co.uk/

Well worth a look at what these guys have been upto

[Wozy68]

I wish them well but copied from their own site this sentence really defeats the whole reason of owning a classic car

‘No more plumes of smoke or smell of petrol, just sit back, relax and enjoy the silent, reliable ride.’

I love classic cars because modern ones seem to have no soul and to me they’re removing that.

[nickpan]

I’ve given this lots of thought having once considered electrifying my 912.

But then I thought - what is the point? The cost to do so was about £50,000. I.e. Tesla model 3 money which is a proper electric car with all of the mod cons that compensate for the lack of a soulful ICE engine... decent tech, comfort, sound system etc.

And if we’re thinking about the environment, I imagine those vehicles that classify as historic still have a good few years ahead of them, albeit not in city centres, and possibly only a couple of days a week, and eventually maybe only on a track, but at least they’ll retain their original DNA and represent the era of the ICE car as we’d like to remember them. Not some sort of mish mash of old and new.

[Pickled Piper]

Wozy68 said:

I wish them well but copied from their own site this sentence really defeats the whole reason of owning a classic car

‘No more plumes of smoke or smell of petrol, just sit back, relax and enjoy the silent, reliable ride.’

I love classic cars because modern ones seem to have no soul and to me they’re removing that.

This exactly. Remove the part that gives the car soul and character, then replace it with an electric motor?

[AW111]

I can really see electrifying something like a Citroen DS, where the engine has nothing to do with the driving experience, but not a classic Porsche.

[JohnBlackWatson]

AW111 said:

I can really see electrifying something like a Citroen DS, where the engine has nothing to do with the driving experience, but not a classic Porsche.

The 2009 film Gattica beat you to it - the Citroen looks good but the whirring Rover P6 does it for me :-)

[nsa]

I like the idea of electrifying old cars but I imagine without the engine/exhaust noise the rattles, squeaks and bangs of the chassis and trim would drive me crackers unless the car had been treated to a nut and bolt restoration at the same time as the conversion.

[Slippydiff]

nsa said:

I like the idea of electrifying old cars but I imagine without the engine/exhaust noise the rattles, squeaks and bangs of the chassis and trim would drive me crackers unless the car had been treated to a nut and bolt restoration at the same time as the conversion.

I’m guessing a large part of what makes modern EV’s pleasant to drive is partly due to the massive advances in isolating their cabins from excessive NV&H (a large part of which will be road noise)
And whilst removing the engine/transmission from the equation to convert an aircooled 911to EV power might appear to provide the best of both worlds, I suspect the end result would be a noisy, heavy, inefficient and characterless means of transport that looks cool, but in reality is sub-optimal from pretty much every other perspective.

[richthebike]

JohnBlackWatson said:

The 2009 film Gattica beat you to it - the Citroen looks good but the whirring Rover P6 does it for me :-)

Do you mean the 1997 film Gattaca?

[1602Mark]

Excuse the thread bump but did anyone see this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZws7kE3U5k

There's a beautiful backdated 964 towards the end, amongst others like a 260Z I think? Personally I just don't see the point. A classic with half of what makes it a classic removed.

[Grantstown]

I don’t think it works for a 911, given that the rear engine / rear drive is so much of the experience.

It might work for some classics where the drivetrain was never up to much, but you can experience the gorgeous old cabin and the initial outlay isn’t too much e.g.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D0JbbRFuMhw


Or certain locations e.g. the London Electric Car Company

[supersport]

No better than a Covin. Just driving around in something that looks like a 911.

Why, just why?

[1602Mark]

supersport said:

No better than a Covin. Just driving around in something that looks like a 911.

Why, just why?

I'd have less of a problem in something like a Covin where it's just a pastiche to look 911'esque but that particular backdated 964 is being ruined for the sake of being an EV. Subjective I know, but don't people buy cars like this because of the very bit they're throwing in the bin? (figuratively).

Talking of Covin though, I've seen some very nice ones recently. I guess they've become cool in their own right as a way of getting a budget 911 type experience?

[Wozy68]

If your thinking your Porsche classic or any classic (utter sacrilege IMO, but maybe that’s just me) needs a conversion to an EV you better read this thread first

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...