Classical gasless

Is this Porsching the E revolution too far?

This car may look exactly like a 1992 Porsche 911 Targa – but it doesn’t sound like one. Because electrifying classic cars is beginning to catch on.

There’s a company that makes an electric MGB Roadster and Jaguar built a one-off E-type that Prince Harry and Meghan drove away in after their 2018 wedding.

But electrifying old cars is a subject that’s bound to stir up furious debate among classic car enthusiasts.

Is it sacrilege to remove a classic’s internal combustion engine and replace it with an electric motor – or is it a commendable act that will save the planet and allow owners to enjoy their treasured machines way into the future? And perhaps enable them to drive them in cities?

We’ll have a think about that later, but let’s have a look at this Porsche.

A firm called Everrati has taken this 964 generation Targa, removed its 3.6-litre flat-six engine and replaced it with an electric motor – in this case a second-hand Tesla Large Drive Unit from a Model S.

This car is a running prototype and later Everrati will use a new electric motor built to its specification. The company is also working on an electric platform that can be configured as front-wheel, rear-wheel and even fourwheel drive. This will be used as the basis for electrifying a wide range of classics.

A 53kwh battery pack is fitted, with a useable 50kwh, that contains 96 cells distributed between the front and rear of the car.

Eighty per cent of the batteries are fitted in the engine bay, tight against the rear bulkhead, so although the overall weight distribution is the same as a regular 964’s, more of the weight at the back is ahead of the rear axle. It’s these batteries that are used for DC fast charging.

At the front of the car is the remainder of the cells and the inverter. Charging is via a socket that lives under the fuel filler cap. It’s very neat.

This car has a Type 2 socket but the production car and all future models will have a CCS one.

Charging from 0-80% takes about 45 minutes. Range from a full battery is 180 miles.

That’s more than enough range for a classic car that’s likely to be used in fair weather and not every day. Meanwhile, inside everything looks as it did when the Porsche left the factory 29 years ago.

A couple of the instruments now tell different tales; the rev counter for example displays percentage of battery charge left.

There’s even what looks like a standard gear lever. You simply shift this through a dog-leg movement to select D or R. Put the Porsche ignition

key in its slot and turn all the way past the point at which the petrol engine would have started turning over and the car comes to life. This car would have weighed 1,400kg with its internal combustion engine and gearbox fitted but now weighs about 50kg more than that thanks to the heavy batteries.

But by EV standards it’s a light car. Which explains why – using the Tesla’s 440bhp electric motors – the car is so bloody fast.

The most powerful 964, the RS, did 0-60mph in around 5.1sec; the Everrati 964 does it in 4.5sec.

It would be quicker still if it wasn’t for the issue of grip. That said, even on the damp roads we’re driving it on there’s amazing traction. Best of all, it drives and feels exactly like a normal 964 – except for the lack of engine noise and the sensation of a traditional petrol engine.

And that’s a real problem for me. The two things I love about classics are their style and their engines.

Electrified classics also tend to cost a fortune. The MGB Roadster transformation by firm RBW costs £90k plus taxes. The Everrati 964, hold your breath, is £250,000.

I’d rather have a modern small EV like a Peugeot e-208 and keep a classic as it left the factory for weekends and special occasions.