Everrati and Ionic aren’t the only companies in the business of electrifying classic cars. What began as a niche business is quickly becoming a fixture in the classic car universe. Whether it’s a simple rebuild to an everyday sports car or a complete rebuild that creates a silent super luxury machine, here is our selection of companies dedicated to classic electric restomods – and old cars into the 21st century and beyond bring.
Extravert cars
Martijn van Dijk’s Voitures Extravert is based in the Netherlands. The company not only specializes in equipping the Porsche 911 with electric drive, it is also an expert in dismantling a later model of the venerable sports car design and converting it into a classic of the 1970s, with perfect details and colors. The process takes about nine months and the company will help you find a suitable donor car.
Totem cars
Totem Automobili has a unique focus on one of the most beautiful car designs of all time, the Bertone-designed Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA. Built from 1965 to 1969, the GTA was a performance-oriented version of Alfa’s exceptionally attractive two-door coupe. With a livelier engine and a lightweight aluminum body, the 1960s GTA was a consummate racing car. Totem’s GT Electric takes the stylistic spirit of the GTA and reproduces it with a carbon fiber body and an all-electric powertrain. The Italy-based company will hand-build each copy and have paid special attention to the audio design, using a 13-speaker system to fully recreate the sound of the original car, or something entirely new if you so desire. Each interior is completely tailor-made and the company works with leather specialist Amedeo Testoni for luggage and accessories. The low weight offers a promising range of over 240 miles with standard fast charging.
Elektrogen
Another bespoke specialist, Oxford-based Electrogenic, tackles mid-range classics like the Triumph Stag and Morgan 4/4. These sympathetic conversions are both one-offs, and the company has also tackled the Jaguar E-Type, VW Beetle and Van, an early Land Rover, and a Rolls-Royce from the 1970s. Replacing engines, fuel tanks, and gearboxes with engines and batteries helps maintain the original balance, while a modest range of around 250 miles can be achieved with Type 2 charging. The company’s most recent rebuild is a 1971 Citroën DS, the DS EV electronicique, which includes a contemporary update to the car’s groundbreaking hydraulic suspension system.
ECD automotive design
ECD Automotive Design is based in Florida. In addition to the restoration of various Range Rover and Land Rover, classic and modern, the company is now venturing into electrification. The first emission-free models include a first-generation Range Rover with Tesla drive and complete bare metal restoration, as well as an all-electric Defender. The latter has an estimated range of 320 miles with a Tesla power plant and batteries and an honestly alarming zero-to-60 time of 5.5 seconds.
Opel Manta GSe Elektro Mod
A unique design study by Opel for the 50th anniversary of its classic Manta design. The GSe Elektromod builds an optical bridge between Opel’s new design language and the pioneering forms of the 1970s. The Manta GSe is a traditional restomod in the sense that the original car has been kept with slight styling tweaks and the new electric motor has been designed to shift through the original gearbox. The front end has been replaced with a digital screen next to the headlights and the car has a modest range of 240 miles.
Opel Manta GSe electric mod, only concept
opel.de
Watt Electric Vehicle Company
The Watt Electric Vehicle Company starts its business with a design that has been a familiar part of the traditional restomod scene for decades, the Porsche 356. The WEV Coupé combines the timeless elegance of the 356 with a completely new electric base. That proprietary technology is Watts Passenger And Commercial EV Skateboard (PACES), and the Cornish company hopes it will underpin vans and other vehicles in due course. The WEV Coupé is currently the technology showcase with 21 units of this compact, stylish sports car, which will be offered from the beginning of 2022.
AC cars
AC Cars has a long history and a complicated legacy – official and unofficial versions of its standout 1960s classic, the AC Cobra, continue to spread. With the Classic Electric Cobra Series 1, the original company is reaffirming its claim to the name, an emission-free version of the classic that promises the same brilliant performance in a familiar body. A litmus test to determine whether engine sound is an important part of a classic.
RBW Classic electric cars
RBW transforms the ubiquitous MGB into a lively and ultra-compact electric vehicle. Available both as a roadster and as a closed GT, the focus is not on speed or dynamics, but on quiet, refined driving with a high level of luxury in a compact and familiar package. The company is also working on an electric version of the classic Jaguar E-Type.
Garage Italy
Garage Italia manufactures a wide range of classic and modern Italian machines. Co-founded by Fiat offspring Lapo Elkann, the Milan-based company is just as adept at repainting the latest Ferrari as it is breathing new life into a more prosaic classic. This is also the case with the Fiat Panda 4 x 4, one of Giugiaro’s most famous series models. The company creates five copies of the Icon-e Panda in five different themed areas, including in collaboration with the tailors Vitale Barberis Canonico and the fashion designer Marta Ferri.
Lunaz
Lunaz hit the headlines earlier this summer when it was announced that David Beckham had acquired a stake in the company. Silverstone-based Lunaz has positioned itself at the top end of the market from the start with an electrified Rolls-Royce Phantom, a 1950s Bentley, and an overhauled Series 1 Range Rover. This can either relate to a more traditional “country” role with an agile all-wheel drive system or as a luxurious “town” model.
eclassics
This transformation of the classic Beetle convertible, approved by Volkswagen, is carried out by the German company eClassics. The e-Beetle Cabrio uses the drive train of VW’s modern e-up! Electric city car, all other components completely overhauled. The company can also electrify the VW bus of your choice.
Renault 4 e-Plein Air
This collaboration between Renault Classic and Renault Design was a one-off celebration of the Renault 4 open-top conversion, favored by the French beach scenes in the 1960s and 1970s. As a direct competitor to Citroen’s equally iconic Mehari, the original Plein Air was introduced as a vacation runabout in 1968, with the doors and roof removed and replaced with canvas. The e-Plein Air is an electric restomod and contains the chassis of Renault’s small, modern Twizy four-wheeler.
Hemmels
The Hemmels Electric Pagoda takes on one of the most beautiful creations from Mercedes-Benz – the 280SL, built between 1963 and 1971. At that time, the W113 series was a great success, especially on the US market, and around 50,000 units were sold. Still a popular classic, Hemmels believes he can update the clean, open car with a full restoration and a bespoke electric powertrain. The Electric Pagoda is now in Series III production after the first two editions sold out quickly.
4×4 icon
Jonathan Wards Icon has been meticulously creating meticulous updates to classic 4×4 models for two decades, delivering its delightful handcrafted creations to the tech and entertainment industries on the California coast. Icon also operates a ‘Derelict’ line, a service that underpins well-patinated classics with consistently modern chassis. These have led to unexpected electrical modifications in recent years; our favorite is this 1966 Fiat Giardiniera.
Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero
One of the original retro electric conversions, Jaguar’s E-Type Zero, was unveiled in 2017 and attracted widespread attention when it was used as the farewell car at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Wessex, a nice marketing coup that unfortunately didn’t translate into any sales since the project was eventually canned. Aston Martin has also looked into the conversion, with an EV version of its DB6 from the 1960s that was developed a few years ago. If you still want an electric E-Type, you’ve got to go the unofficial routes.
Zero Labs
Californian company Zero Labs was founded in 2015 to meet the demand for rivet-perfect restorations of compact, early SUVs like the first-generation Ford Bronco and the Series III Land Rover. By incorporating batteries into these useful classics, Zero Labs is one of the many niche stories in California’s rich history of the electric motor. The interiors are subtly upgraded in a minimally modernist style and the company can even finish the entire car in carbon fiber if that’s your pocket. The special projects department will tackle any vehicle of your choice at a specific price.
Charge cars
Charge makes a bold statement with its electrified Ford Mustang, one of the original muscle cars and a machine normally associated with the sound and rumble of a traditional V8 engine. The company has big ambitions to build 499 copies of this all-American hero with a range of 200 miles (not far from the original thirsty gasoline models) and improved user interfaces.
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