Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Haha, felt the same, both great cars but they fall into Chelsea hypercar territory for me these days.

That Datsun/Skyline is sublime.

Hyper9 motor with 44kWh of batteries would be around €24.000 ex vat for the parts to convert it yourself. Weight of the parts is just under 300kg. Range in a 900 would be 120 miles give or take.

For reference a complete 911 of that age is around 900kg, less for a lightweight/race/rally, so the EV conversion is not all positive.

I think it actually suits more luxurious vehicles more- you don’t expect a DS to corner, wafting along silently would be great though.

Thanks that's good to know, still way out of budget for me unfortunately but maybe not for others which makes me think me doing a body restoration wouldn't be a total waste of time.

Do you think that the costs of converting Joe Public's average car to EV will ever come down enough to make it a realistic prospect for those who already own an ICE vehicle, at the point when they might otherwise change that car? e.g. I've got a 12 yr old Trafic van (maybe different for a larger vehicle) - is there any possibility of this being economical to convert in another decade's time, or will the industry's desire to sell new stuff/price of parts and labour mean that it will never make financial sense?

Sorry for the long question, thanks for any opinion!

But you could move the battery to the front and get rid of the silly rear-engined weight distribution.

Have a look at the weight distribution of most modern race cars, then have a look at the weight distribution of a 911.

What does the transmission/fuel tank weigh out of that? It’s not like you’re just adding 1/3rd existing weight.

It’s all gonna be down to the labour time/costs I’d imagine.
Say you could get the electric motor/battery for £500, you still essentially would have to dismantle and rebuild the entire vehicle.
If the motor bolted straight to the existing gearbox maybe it would be viable but realistically I doubt it would be a thing for ‘everyday’ cars :/
Would be a game changer tho

gearbox

EVs don't like gearboxes

This is exactly the point right? A 911 has a character that's different to anything because of its weight distribution. Changing to an EV drivetrain and balancing the weight would ruin it. I'm with you, large wafty cars for EV and especially the Citroen DS. Sports cars need to be light to have really enjoyable handling characteristics.

So something with 250 miles rang would be circa 500kg?

How much work goes into the chassis tune on these conversions?

Changing to an EV drivetrain and balancing the weight would ruin it.

I read about a company that was backdating 80's 911s to 60's looking ones, and electric converting them at the same time (was a similar cost to the one upthread).

They suggested that the extra weight and being able to place it around the car made them better driving, but also admitted that getting rid of the handling 'quirks' of that period car could easily be interpreted as ruining it.

edit - these guys:

https://www.voitures-extravert.com/

Well, of course- if I'm significantly changing the weight distribution of a car then I'm going to tell you that it's advantageous. I'm hardly going to say "we took the most successful sports car design of all time and fucked it up, LOL".

They might be alright now, but the 911 has always been a triumph of engineering development over physics. The early SWB ones were hopeless. Porsche used to put 20kg weights in the front bumpers to keep the nose down.

Also moving the weight forward is hardly fucking it up. Caysters are well known to handle better than 911s

My dad hates his t-roc

Also, it's called T-Roc.

T-Roc

T-Roc

cunts

Do you think that the costs of converting Joe Public's average car to EV will ever come down enough to make it a realistic prospect for those who already own an ICE vehicle

No, because you are competing against new EVs being built at huge scale.

A 911 SC, which was the base for this conversion, is around 1200kg empty. Add 80l of fuel and you are just under what a conversion that’s done right should weigh. Weight distribution goes from 60/40 to 55/45 ish.
Voiture Extravert still don’t have a road registered car. And their price has risen.

*Disclaimer: the conversion company I work for did not build or helped build this Porsche.
And having driven converted DSs; they are wonderful.
Converting existing cars makes no financial sense whatsoever. They are fun though. And nicer to look at than a diesel SUV.

Also see; mokka

God yeah that makes me want to smash. Good thing you never, ever see them.

I think the new one looks ok. I'd never buy one, but I see why people do.

Absolutely this. 70 years is a long time to engineer out the bad bits of a non-ideal layout. One reason modern 911s are less "quirky" is that they weigh a lot more overall and so the engine weighs less as a proportion.

FWIW I've never driven a classic 911 so I'm only going on the word of others about how they actually drive.

I've never driven a classic 911

Same, but (again going on the word of others, mostly my Dad, and very much not a Porsche geek...) wasn't the 944 a better handling Porsche for most of its run? So even at the time they might have realised they could do better given freer reign in engineering decisions.

Most EVs don’t need gearboxes. You can shift gears just as well with a converted car.