Not In My Lifetime… Or So I Thought

Governments across the more developed parts of the world are taking a tougher stance on traditional fossil fuelled cars, paving the pathway for electricity to take over. I had shrugged off the electric revolution with this thought. “It will not happen during my lifetime.”

Well it has. The mighty Toyota Prius was my first affair with a car that could silently pull away, creep up on unsuspecting pedestrians and give you great satisfaction driving slowly in ‘“Electric Vehicle mode” to see if you could avoid the engine kicking in. Then Tesla changed the game. A fast passenger ride in one a friend had on loan and an Uber taxi experience. Both encounters put that linear acceleration and interior finesse on the map for me.

Manufacturers are flexing their electronic wizardry muscles, BMW with their little i3 and supercar styled i8, Renault with the Zoe and Nissan with their Leaf. To name a few. I spotted an all electric Fiat 500 and late model Golf in the classifieds abroad too. Didn’t know they existed. So when is the time to join the new age trend?

I was fascinated to see a video of an old BMW 8 series that has been converted to be an electric vehicle. I dug deeper and found a VW Camper and 90’s Peugeot 106 with a bespoke conversion. They are out there, and I guess it makes sense. We accept that engine and running gear swaps are the norm, it is perhaps time to embrace a new type of transplant. One that needs plugging in.

It breaks my heart to say it but I do wonder if one day we will be regulated and priced out of using our classic love. Maybe we may have no choice?

What classic car would you choose to convert? And more importantly, what would you do with the old engine? Possibly the one factor that went hand in hand with the bodyshell making your chosen car special in the first place.