Custom Nissan Leaf Hearse Is an Emissions-Free Ride to the Afterlife
Waft to your own funeral in respectful silence in this converted compact EV.
If you've always dreamed of going quietly into that good night without the rumble of an internal combustion engine, now you have a choice. This custom Nissan Leaf hearse promises to whisk your coffin to its final resting place with the silence of electric drive.
On sale on Facebook Marketplace, the Leaf in question is a 2011 model, hailing from St Albans, England. For hearse purposes, both passenger side doors have been replaced with a single grand window for viewing the coffin. Inside, there's just one front and one rear seat. The rest have been removed to make space for the beautifully-finished wood paneling and support rails for the coffin.
The coffin sits in the car on a diagonal, the only way it could fit inside. There's a reason why small hatchbacks don't usually serve as hearses. Some would say it's undignified. Others will appreciate the compact design and low impact of a coffin-hauling hatchback. Different strokes and all that.
The EV hearse is listed at a price of £20,000 ($24,000). That's steep for a 2011 model, which would normally sell somewhere under £5,000 ($6,000). However, in addition to the unique modifications, it also has remarkably low mileage. The odometer reads just 11,153 miles.
The ad notes that the Leaf can fill a unique need for a funeral business. Some people are passionate about saving the environment, so it's understandable they'd appreciate a zero-emissions hearse.
It may be rare, but it's not the only Nissan Leaf hearse out there. Back in 2020, Cambridge News reported on British funeral director Woodland Wishes which relied upon a handsome silver Leaf hearse. Indeed, there were at least eight in operation in the UK back then, with surely more in service today. Second-generation models have also been converted to coffin-carrying duty, too. As covered by Move Electric, coachbuilder Wilcox Limousines produces a stretched design that hews closer to the conventional hearse aesthetic.
Other EVs have served in funereal duties as well. Another British coachbuilder has started producing hearses based on the Mustang Mach-E. The Tesla Model S has also been the basis of several conversions, too.
As mainstream automakers move further into the electric space, it's only natural that the bespoke coachbuilding world will follow along. It may be that many of us go to our final resting place, whisked along by whizzing electrons instead of burning fossil fuels.
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