WELCOME TO THE WORKSHOP
Where the team is having an electrifying day out!
You won’t be surprised to know that I get asked this question more than any other at the moment. Are electric conversions still classics? We seek to answer the question in this special issue, with John Simister at the controls on page 52, but here are my thoughts.
The answer, boringly, is similar to the answer to, ‘what is a classic?’ It depends on a lot of factors, the main one being why you like cars in the first place. If you are an aesthete, interested mainly in design, then the motive power of any car is of secondary importance. If you are a city dweller and use your classic because you want something quirky for your for short urban hops, then electric might make sense. Interestingly, if you want out and out performance, modern electric motors will give you plenty of bang for your buck. They can even improve weight distribution, too (the Ferrari 308 is probably the biggest revelation of all the cover cars). But if you, like me, like your classics au
naturel, similar, at least, to the way they were created, then electric might not be the way forward. If you like to work on, and feel, your classic’s beating heart then you would miss the noise, the smell, the filth.
My wife runs a Nissan Leaf. It is brilliant. It is a hoot to drive. It’s practical and, because we have solar panels, I like to think we are often driving on sun power. It is the future, and that is OK. But classics, as a nostalgic celebration of engineering ingenuity and as providers of sensory excitement need internal combustion to be truly alive. Call me old fashioned…
‘Watt on earth are they doing? They’re absolutely shocking.’ The Electro Boffins
‘I wish I was in my garden with my puppy.’ Lisa ‘Joules’ Johnson
‘EVS are very current, but I also like wind power. I’m a big fan’ Danny ‘The Conductor’ Hopkins
‘Well I, for one, am completely ex-static!’ James ‘Wattavge’
‘No resistance here. I really love a good Volts-wagen’ Matt ‘Surging’ George
‘I once got charged for eating batteries.’ Matt ‘Sparky’ Tomkins