EV conversion

EV conversion specialists Lightning eMotors has announced its second-generation repower program that enables large transit combustion buses that previously ran on diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) to be converted to all-electric buses. Better yet, Lightning is helping fleet customers of these electrified conversions maximize the same federal and state funding they would receive if they were purchasing brand new electric buses.

Past will meet future at Bonhams’ “Quail Auction” later this month, as an all-electric one-of-one Ferrari Testa Rosa J will be auctioned off with proceeds to support local youth in California. This 2022 EV is a scaled reproduction built and donated by The Little Car Company as a nod to one of the most iconic cars in Ferrari history. Check it out.

The Subaru Brat was always an acquired taste, even when it was new. If you were ever lucky (?) enough to get strapped into those rear-facing seats in the little all-wheel drive trucklet’s “bed”, though, odds are you fell hard for the little Subie – if that’s you, get ready. This electrified 1980 Brat is going to bring back the love.

Range Rover was the original high-roller SUV. Without it, there would never have been a BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or – heck, even a Porsche SUV. And, yes, there is a 2022 Range Rover that sort of looks the part, but if you’re the type of person who feels like the simple elegance of its in-vogue ancestors has somehow eluded the 22’s designers, then keep reading. The guys at EVolution Australia may have just what you’re looking for.

The ’72 Plymouth Satellite is a bit more obscure than the ’69 Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard or Kowalski’s white ’70 Challenger from Vanishing Point, but it’s still one of the most desirable pre-emission Mopars out there. The owner of this particular Satellite loved the looks of the car, but Hemi muscle isn’t what it used to be. So, he went searching for a way to keep the car relevant 50 years after its original build date. Thanks to a Tesla Model S Ludicrous rear drive unit and 100 kWh battery pack, it looks like he found one!

Fleet EV developer Lightning eMotors has unveiled a new rolling chassis, purpose-built for Class 4 and 5 commercial EVs. The proprietary Lightning eChassis can support 1,500 lbs greater Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) on average compared to other commercial vehicles in the same class. With the debut of its new eChassis, Lightning eMotors has claimed the title of the first commercial EV manufacturer to offer both purpose-built trucks and electrified conversions of legacy OEM platforms.

Ford Motor Company has taken its dedication to electrification a step further by offering its Eluminator electric crate motor to the public to create custom EVs of their own. The 281 horsepower Eluminator motor is present in the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, and can now be installed into other vehicles, such as an electrified 1978 Ford F-100 pickup.

EV designer Zero Labs has shared demonstration footage of its proprietary EV platform designed specifically for classic cars being implemented on a 50-year-old truck. In a process it’s cleverly calling “retrobution,” the company electrifies the truck in just 24 hours. The video offers evidence that classic gasoline or diesel vehicles from previous decades can successfully be converted to fully electric versions to help reduce emissions.

GM has unveiled its 1977 Chevy K5 Blazer-E converted to electric power with its upcoming eCrate conversion kit using Chevy Bolt EV batteries.

EV West has unveiled its new Tesla crate motor mount kit to drop into V8 muscle cars in electric conversion projects.

A Tesla powertrain, along with several other Tesla parts, were used to turn Johnny Cash’s Rolls-Royce into a unique electric car with 200 miles of range.

VW becomes the latest automaker to standardize the electric conversion of its classic cars – starting with classic Beetles. They unveiled the first prototype ahead of the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany.
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A French startup is trying to streamline electric conversion with Tesla batteries in order to offer a relatively cheap way to convert older fossil fuel-powered cars.
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One of the coolest electric conversions we have ever seen, an old-school VW Bug powered by Tesla batteries, is being given away for a good cause.
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While you still can’t buy an electric Mustang from Ford, a company decided to combine resto-mod with all-electric conversion to sell some stunning all-electric 1960’s Mustangs.
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ICON, a restomod company based in Los Angeles, and Stealth EV, a company specializing in electric car conversions, unveiled a new EV conversion at SEMA today: a 1949 Mercury coupe with a Tesla battery pack.
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As I stated in my ‘Taking a Tesla Model 3 Performance to the dragstrip‘ post yesterday, there was only one other electric vehicle at the track this weekend and it was a special one: A Tesla-powered Honda S2000 that ran the quarter-mile in 10 seconds.
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Audi has yet to launch its first all-electric vehicle built to be electric from the ground up, but it has conversion compliance cars around.

But now an Audi S5 owner decided to make his own conversion using a Tesla powertrain and it might be the best all-electric Audi out there right now.
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Lately, we are seeing an increase not only in new electric vehicles but also of EV conversions.

Now a group in New Zealand went old school by converting a classic 1957 Ford Fairlane to an all-electric powertrain.
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In the balmy Missouri heat of August 2012, surrounded by what must have been a record forty lithium battery powered EV conversions, I had the opportunity to meet Michael Bream from San Diego.  He hadn’t brought a car to this convention, just a Ziploc sandwich bag containing the remains of a shattered rear differential gear.  Openly unafraid to try new things with electric motors, Michael had partnered up with fellow gear-head Matt Hauber to form one of the coolest conversion shops, EVWest.  They were both convinced that switching from gasoline to electric power was simply the next logical step to meeting their performance goals.
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As the electric vehicle market grows, the salvaged electric vehicle market is bound to grow also and that opens up opportunities for hobbyists to use electric motors and battery packs from those salvaged cars to convert more classic vehicles and kit cars to electric propulsion.

We have seen some pretty cool ongoing projects already, like an all-electric 818 kit car with a Tesla drivetrain runing a quarter-mile in 10.1 seconds and conversion of a 1969 VW Karmann Ghia. We now learn of a new project with the body of a classic 427 Shelby Cobra powered by a Tesla motor and a Kia Soul EV battery pack.
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