Which early EV will become the first classic car of the electric era?

Every automotive era has its classics, designs that transcend spec sheets and sales figure and, somehow, become more culturally relevant with age. Now, nearly thirty years into the modern era, it feels like it’s time to ask the question: Which early EV will become the first classic car of the electric era?

While many will likely point to the GM EV1 or the original Tesla Roadster as the starting points of the modern EV era, neither were pioneers. Low-volume oddities like the all-electric Consulier GTP models built by Mosler Automotive and US Electricar got there first, proving battery power could deliver the sort of thrilling performance that defined many of the classic cars of the 60s and 70s.

That said, you probably haven’t heard of either of those cars. Or the Robert Q. Riley-designed electric Trimuter and Tri-Magnum foamies. Or the AC Propulsion tzero roadster. All were early pioneers of both hypermiling and electrification featured in niche magazines like Kit Car, Mechanix Illustrated, and Popular Mechanics in the pre-internet age.

Old-school cover cars

As for which of these, if any, is going to be a future collectible classic, my money is firmly on the GM EV1. Not only is it among the most visible of the early electrics – having been featured in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car – it’s also one with a cult following and a limited availability made even more limited by the fact that most of them ended up in GM’s crushers when their original leases were up.

That rarity is driving up prices on the few GM EV1s that are out there. One EV1 (VIN #278) was donated to a university and effectively forgot about it until its rediscovery a few years ago. That car was eventually towed out of the garage it was parked in as an abandoned vehicle, impounded, and eventually sold at auction under a court order, creating a legal chain of events that reportedly broke GM’s ultra-restrictive ownership contracts and allowing it be auctioned to the public.

It sold for $104,000 – an absolutely staggering amount for a vehicle that doesn’t run, has no parts base, no manufacturer support, and only the slightest chance of some kind of assembly drawings existing outside of GM’s most heavily guarded inner sanctums.

It’s like finding Ferrari’s one-off IndyCar project in a barn and trying to restore it, but Ferrari is actively fighting against your efforts to restore the thing … and that, dear friends, sounds like a classic car story if I ever heard one.

That’s my take, but what’s yours? The EV1 seems like an easy answer to me, but maybe I’m missing something? Maybe the real answer is the Toyota Mirai or a first-gen Honda Insight hybrid. You guys are smart, so head down to the comments and let us know.

Original content from Electrek.

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