The People Converting Classic Cars to EVs
It can be difficult to understand other people's hobbies. What's so interesting about stamps? What's fun about digging in a garden?
The thing is, hobbies can be irrational: just ask classic car owners.
Classic cars are expensive, they need lots of space, it takes a lot of work to keep them running, and they're not very reliable if you actually want to drive them anywhere.
Still, many people love them.
And in recent years, a new industry has emerged that could make these cars easier to use and care for — by converting them to electric vehicles (EVs).
UK company Everrati calls this conversion "upcycling." "We're creating something that will hopefully last a lifetime," Everrati CEO Justin Lunny told the BBC in June.
However, customers may have to pay more than $400,000 for their conversions.
Prices start lower than that. But cars are converted to order, and the conversion isn't just a simple swap — many of the car's functions depend on the engine, and some companies will also update the whole vehicle, adding things like seatbelts and air conditioning.
But wait, isn't it some sort of car crime to take apart an antique Aston Martin? What about the beautiful sound of a noisy exhaust, or the growl of an engine on a country road?
That's exactly what some owners say: they'd miss the noise and feel of their original classic car.
But for others, conversion is a good way of giving new life to an old car. Old classic cars are unreliable. With an electric engine, those cars might spend more time on the road and less time in the garage.
And owners get a greener car. That's particularly important for people living in a city with a "low-emissions zone" — a part of town that some older cars are charged for entering, to help reduce pollution.
But others would prefer to keep their classic cars just the way they bought them.
