Tesla Power in a Classic Porsche?
- Commander
- Apr 10, 2020
- 2 min read
An electric-powered Classic Porsche 912! Sacrilege or state of the art; it all depends on your mindset.
It was only a matter of time before someone shoehorned an electric engine for a 5,500-pound Tesla into a 2,200-pound vintage Porsche. Air Brigade first saw Tesla-power in a Vintage Porsche RSR Tribute at Cars & Cappucino in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019. It garnered a lot of attention at the show where it was debuting from its build by Backyard Legends in Concord, North Carolina.
Tesla-power in a Classic Porsche was a novelty and was definitely a love/hate among visitors at the show who viewed the electric-powered vintage Porsche. Some people thought it was very cool and could only image how fast it is in this small lightweight chassis of a vintage Porsche. Others thought, how can you ruin a great air-cooled Porsche by installing electric power in a vintage Porsche robbing the driver of the classic Porsche sound and drive that a Porsche flat-six engine produces.
The team at Zelectric Motors and EV West apparently think it is a very cool idea as they have built a business converting vintage Volkswagens and Porsches to electric power with Tesla motors. In the beginning there was little interest and few customers but now there is a 3-4 year waiting list for their conversions. Orders are being taken for 2023 delivery.
Zelectric and EV West working in partnership recently converted a Porsche 912 for a customer Tesla power. The YouTube video showing their Tesla-powered Porsche 912 burning out stirs your soul at the thought of roaring away from a stoplight in this 550 horsepower monster that produces 34 pound-feet of torque. To save weight this Tesla-powered Porsche conversion doesn’t use the Tesla batteries but instead uses a 32kWh LG Chem battery pack split into two 16kWh portions to balance out the car.
Based on the interest and success of the Tesla-powered Porsche 912, David Bernardo, founder of Zelectric Motors and Michael Bream, the founder of EV West have created a Porsche 911/912 conversion kit that sells for $50,000. David and Michael are quick to point out that they use donor classic Porsches that are at the near point of no return with missing engines so they are not destroying a perfectly good Classic air-cooled Porsche.
Detractors of the idea of converting a classic Porsche to Tesla power believe an electric-powered classic Porsche defeats the purpose of owning and driving a classic Porsche and the unique driving experience provided by the Porsche flat-six engine.
As they say: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” as is a classic Porsche driving experience.
Zelectric Motors restores old cars with a modern twist: https://www.zelectricmotors.com
EV West specializes in high performance electric power vehicle modifications: www.EVWest.com
Video of Telsa-powered Porsche 912: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=CYrk5r4kiSM&feature=emb_logo
Tags: Electric-powered classic Porsche, Tesla-powered Classic Porsche, Electric Vintage Porsche
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