EV-Swapping a Vintage Land Rover Is Precisely the Way to Enjoy It
Everrati will now offer an EV-swapped Land Rover Series IIA.
By and large, anyone who says maintaining an old British classic is easy is either delusional or lying to you. More often than not, you'll find yourself dealing with leaks, rust, and needing to replace parts that stopped being made decades ago. But the cars are just so cool that we can't help ourselves. One solution to keep them moving across the Earth is to EV-swap them, as EV-swapping company Everrati has just gone and done with the Land Rover Series IIA.
You'll remember Everrati as the one behind the electric Porsche 964 911 Alex Goy reviewed for us recently. For the Land Rover, the Everrati team will first find a donor car in original and "exemplary condition," according to a press release. In other words, an example that hasn't been shot and rotted to hell. From there, the company will remove all the interior bits, the powertrain, and all bodywork so the chassis and bulkhead can be galvanized and coated with "a protective zinc process" to safeguard it against corrosion. This, as the company calls it, is "futureproofing."
It'll drop in heated front seats trimmed in leather and leather-trimmed rear bench seats as well. It doesn't do in 2021 to sit on an upturned bucket and call it a day.
After that, it's time to drop an EV powertrain in. (Don't worry, though; Everrati says this step is "fully reversible" so if you want to go back to the old engine, you absolutely can.)
From a 60-kWh battery pack comes a claimed power output of around 150 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque that can be sent via either two- or four-wheel-drive modes. The truck will also have environment-dependent traction and dynamic abilities, as well as hi/low ranges. Considering how the fuel-driven Series IIAs made, like, less than 70 hp back in the day, this is already a considerable improvement. As for range, Everrati says its electrified Land Rover can do up to 125 miles.
The electrified Series IIAs come with either a traditional or modern soft-top canvas roof or a safari hard-top. Painted wheels come in all colors and are all wrapped with a set of Michelin tires. No pricing was announced at this time, but considering how the Everrati-ified 911 starts at $345,000—you get the idea.
Look, I love a vintage, boxy Land Rover just as much as the next person does. But after having driven one, I have to say the slow-as-molasses and ricketiness of the experience isn't my cup of tea. And while merely LS-swapping one has its merits, it's also pretty played out at this point. I'm not saying Everrati is the answer, but why not EV-swap an old Land Rover? You're removing a slow and inefficient engine and replacing it with a more powerful and zero-emissions motor. No more mysterious leaks. No more rotted rubber to replace. It's perfect.
EV-swapping old classics seems to be the in-vogue thing to do nowadays. It's happened on everything from Honda CRXs to Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows. Me? I'd take an EV-swapped classic Mini.
Got a tip? Email me at kristen@thedrive.com.
