Future-proof your classic Porsche 911 with an electric conversion

Surrendering a perfectly tidy classic Porsche 911 to the green cause will seem like sacrilege for petrolheads, says Stephen Dobie for Top Gear. Justin Lunny, founder of British start-up Everrati, which aims to “future-proof past masters”, says that the switch from petrol to electric is reversible, if that reassures you. But you probably will not want to go back as the result of the firm’s conversions is “so impressive”.

You hand over your favourite 911 from the late Eighties or early Nineties, along with around £250,000. You get back an Everrati Pure – the same car powered by an electric motor. You may have traded in the heart of the Porsche for an electric motor, but rest assured – the car will have “kept its soul”.

Purists may need persuading, says Colin Goodwin in Evo. If you love engines, those “beating hearts” will seem like an “essential part of the experience”. For those struggling to let go, Everrati will “supply you with a perspex case in which to display your flat-six and rest your Nescafé upon”. Down the line, Everrati plans to develop its own bespoke electric motors, but for now, where Porsche’s 3.6-litre engine used to live will sit a motor lifted from a Tesla Model S.

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The 53kWh battery pack is split, with 80% located in the engine bay and the rest in the rear to maintain the original weight distribution of the regular car. Otherwise, it would “wreck the feel”. Charging from empty to 80% takes around 45 minutes; a full battery should give a range of around 150 miles.

An “eerie sound of silence” greets the turning of the starter key, says Jake Groves in Car. But “it takes mere yards… to get over it as other, better, sensations wash over you one by one.” The steering is “just so gorgeously weighted and accurate” and the suspension “works exactly as intended”. Sat “behind the wheel of Everrati’s creation, I couldn’t stop smiling”. The result is still very much a 911. “If the idea of future-proofing your classic for the zero-emission age sounds appealing, and you have plenty of dosh, it’s at least worth giving Everrati a call.”

Everrati Porsche 911 (964)

• Price: from around £250,000, plus tax and donor car
• Power: 500bhp
• 0-60mph: under four seconds
• Battery: 53kWh
• Range: 150 miles

This article was originally published in MoneyWeek