Photo: Lunaz
Sure, breathing new life into old classics is much easier with an electric drivetrain than a conventional one. Sure, it’s trendy to be the owner of a vintage vehicle powered by electricity. Sure, this may very well be the future. But should we like this?
If you have been following what’s what in the industry lately, then the name Lunaz might be familiar. Last we heard of this group, the Brits were at it trying to electrify Range Rovers made from 1970 to 1994. They are also doing this for old Jaguars. And now, Bentleys, it seems.
The Lunaz business is growing as people are suckers for such conversions. The Brits announced this week an expansion of the manufacturing footprint at the Silverstone Technology Cluster from an 8,000 square feet facility to a 40,000 square feet one, and doubling the number of skilled employees. With this announcement came news of the Bentley conversion being ready for the start of production.
The company offers an EV conversion of all original Bentley Continentals made from 1955 to 1965, in both coupe and four-door Flying Spur variants. For the pretentious ones, Continental Drophead coupes are also on the menu.
What does the conversion to electric drive mean? For now, it’s anybody's guess, as the company is tight-lipped when it comes to battery capacity, motor output, and so on. Given the fact that such a system already exists for the other cars made by Lunaz (380 hp from the electric motors on the Jaguar XK120 and a 80-kWh electric battery), that’s probably what we’ll get here as well.
But that’s not nearly enough to cover the £350,000 (that would be $488,000 at today's exchange rates) asking price Lunaz has in mind for the Continentals. So it is throwing in stuff like up-rated suspension and brakes, the fitting of power-steering and air-conditioning, and, of course, Apple CarPlay. Because what’s a classic without Siri, right?
The Lunaz business is growing as people are suckers for such conversions. The Brits announced this week an expansion of the manufacturing footprint at the Silverstone Technology Cluster from an 8,000 square feet facility to a 40,000 square feet one, and doubling the number of skilled employees. With this announcement came news of the Bentley conversion being ready for the start of production.
The company offers an EV conversion of all original Bentley Continentals made from 1955 to 1965, in both coupe and four-door Flying Spur variants. For the pretentious ones, Continental Drophead coupes are also on the menu.
What does the conversion to electric drive mean? For now, it’s anybody's guess, as the company is tight-lipped when it comes to battery capacity, motor output, and so on. Given the fact that such a system already exists for the other cars made by Lunaz (380 hp from the electric motors on the Jaguar XK120 and a 80-kWh electric battery), that’s probably what we’ll get here as well.
But that’s not nearly enough to cover the £350,000 (that would be $488,000 at today's exchange rates) asking price Lunaz has in mind for the Continentals. So it is throwing in stuff like up-rated suspension and brakes, the fitting of power-steering and air-conditioning, and, of course, Apple CarPlay. Because what’s a classic without Siri, right?
Google News