A COMPANY in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains is driving Ireland’s green revolution by converting old supercars to electric.
Her work is so in demand that a number of A-list vehicle retrofit celebrities have honked in her direction.
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Norman Crowley next to a modified 1981 Ferrari 308
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One of the hyper-classic designs
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The converted Ferrari 308 from 1981 drives in the Wicklow Mountains
They have also turned their spotlights on the return of automobile production to Ireland to develop and build environmentally friendly sports cars in Ireland.
Norman Crowley, CEO of the Cool Planet Group, is also the driving force behind Electrifi, headquartered in the Powerscourt Estate, which modifies supercars and manufactures “hypercars”.
Hypercars are world-class vehicles modeled after the most sought-after classic cars and built by hand to make them more powerful, safer, and carbon-free.
Cork-born businessman Norman said the modification process not only improves the car’s performance and efficiency, it also significantly increases its value.
On RTE Ireland’s 2021 Rich List, he said, “This is a 1981 Ferrari 308. It was converted to electric, so we took pretty much anything from 1981 and replaced it.
“If we remodel it, it tripled the value of the car. The value of the car is now just under half a million.
BUSINESS IS BOOMING
“It’s much, much faster – three times faster than before. It’s a lot quieter and a lot more reliable.
“Some people tell us about the noise that they miss the noise, but once they ride it, they don’t.
“What we always say, when we switch from horses to cars, we didn’t make the car sound like a horse, so why should we make this car sound like an old car now.”
The demand for his work has accelerated so much that the Wicklow outfit business is booming.
“Our plant is fully booked for renovations until 2023. So the demand for it is incredible.
“We’re converting everything from Land Rover Defenders, our most popular. We have a Volkswagen Beetle that is faster than any Porsche you can buy. We are now getting calls from everywhere from the west coast of the States to ‘Australia.” “
The drive for electrification has even led celebrities to knock for Norman’s expertise.
“We made Elle Goulding’s wedding car, which was a VW RV. We did Dev Patel, the actor’s Fiat 500, and then we did another Ferrari for an A-list celebrity we’re not allowed to talk about. “
AUTO MANUFACTURING RESTORATION
Ford’s Cork factory closed in January 1984 after serving in Rebel County since April 1917.
The famous DeLorean DMC-12 was manufactured in Dunmurry, Belfast, Co. Antrim in the 1970s and early 80s. However, production ceased in February 1982 after only 8,500 cars had been produced.
But Norman wants to go back to the future and bring auto manufacturing back to Ireland.
He said, “Since Ireland has no real history of car manufacturing in the last 50 or 60 years, we wanted to bring that back and so we reached out to two of the most famous car designers in the world – Peter Brock and Ian Callum.
“Peter Brock is famous for designing the Corvette Stingray when he was only 19 and Ian, who was recently named Designer of the Year.
“And both of them have agreed to work with us on the development of a new car. And this new car made here will be the first new car made in Ireland since the DeLorean.
“We call these cars hyper-classics, so they have hypercar performance, very fast, but they have a classic look and styling, they look like a vintage car.
“These cars will be priced between 1.2 million euros and 2 million euros.”
The Cork native said that Electrifi “brings all of my passions – climate change, cars, design – together in one store”.
- Part 1 of Ireland’s Rich List 2021 will air on RTE One Monday at 9:35 p.m.
