autoevolution
 

Dax Cobra Electric Restomod Is the Latest Heresy From AVA Electrifi

AVA Electrifi is the laboratory Norman Crowley uses to convert classic cars into electric-powered, ‘hyperclassic’ restomods.
Electric Cobra prototype 7 photos
Photo: AVA via Autocar
AVA Dax CobraAVA Dax CobraAVA Dax CobraAVA Dax CobraAVA Dax CobraAVA Dax Cobra
This Irish entrepreneur piled up a fortune by creating low-carbon monitoring and logistics systems for large companies, but that didn’t slake his thirst for innovation and tinkering. Crowley needed to take things one step beyond, and in today's world that means converting existing classic cars to run on electric power.

Crowley began not long a ago by stuffing a Tesla motor and a battery array into a Ferrari 308, but he had dreams of something more, and that’s where the idea to place a 500 bhp electric motor into a Cobra capable of spending 20 minutes tooling around at race track pace was born.

After trying to source a Cobra once owned by Irish socialite and heir to the Guinness fortune Tara Browne, Crowley settled on a replica Cobra from Dax Cars, a British sports car manufacturer founded in 1968 and based in Essex, England. Dax were the first British company to make a kit-based replica of the AC 427 Cobra.

Crowley says he has no intention of creating an “Irish Tesla,” but his upcoming projects include a 2,000 bhp Stingray based on a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette and the said AVA 308, a Ferrari 308 rebuilt from scratch using 21st-century electric motor technology and modern engineering features.

Ex-Jaguar designer Ian Callum pitches in on some of the projects and there are plans to create a series of electric-powered Land Rover Defenders that will feature massive batteries capable of long-range trips.

Crowley adds in an interview with Autocar that the idea isn't as much about making the cars in volume, but about making cars capable of inspiring, and which feature energy efficiency and renewables.

While some may find the AVA 308 and this Cobra update a bit heretical, Crowley remains undaunted - and unrepentant.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories