- UK-based Electrical Basic Automobiles transformed a 1958 Porsche 356A to an electrical automobile.
- The German coupe is now powered by a 120-horsepower electrical motor, greater than double the unique powertrain.
- Regardless of it being an EV, the automotive retains its four-speed handbook transmission.
The Porsche 356 was the German sports activities automotive producer’s first collection manufacturing mannequin, and with the 356A, the corporate kicked issues into excessive gear, managing a powerful manufacturing run of over 20,000 items.
These early Porsche two-seaters are a few of the prettiest on the market, combining easy and rugged German engineering with glossy, aerodynamic physique strains. They’re gentle and nimble, however with an air-cooled 1.6-liter engine making simply 59 hp on the rear, they’re not what you’d name quick–by fashionable requirements, a minimum of.
Right here’s the place United Kingdom-based Electrical Basic Automobiles, or ECC, comes into play with its bolt-on EV conversion package designed particularly for the Fifties Porsche 356A.
As you’ll see within the video embedded on the high of this web page, ECC ditched the gas-burning engine for a Hyper9 electrical motor that makes double the facility–120 hp and 173 pound-feet of torque.
A five-module battery pack totaling roughly 30 kilowatt-hours that may be charged from an AC supply at a most of 8 kW allows a driving vary of about 100 to 120 miles. Three of these 5 modules sit within the again, above the electrical motor, whereas the opposite two modules are on the entrance, within the place of the outdated fuel tank.
The charging port is beneath the rear trunk lid, the place the outdated fuel engine used to take a seat.
Whereas many EV conversions on the market ditch the unique transmission of the automotive in favor of a direct drive method the place a torquey electrical motor is linked on to the drive shafts, ECC selected to maintain the four-speed gearbox and clutch. This implies the driving force nonetheless has to shift by gears and really feel a mechanical connection to the automotive as an alternative of simply having to speed up and brake.
The transformed 356A additionally received a number of extra refined upgrades resembling barely wider and decrease profile tires, a heavy-duty anti-roll bar on the entrance, a period-correct set of bucket seats and a contemporary sound system with Bluetooth and hands-free connectivity disguised as a basic radio.