Classic car electric conversion: Aston Martin DB6 Volante mk2 | Fully Charged
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Probably worth mentioning at the outset, Aston Martin prohibited the filming of the battery enclosure or motor mounts and wouldn’t confirm any high voltage specs, battery capacity, estimated range or speed as yet - due to the project not being finalised.
Aston Martin is boldly offering to retro-fit their classics with in-house developed EV powertrains, and this 1970 DB6 Volante mk2 (worth an estimated £1.5 million) is their development car.
Jonny Smith visits Silverstone race circuit to drive the original petrol and then the converted electric conversion test mule - the secret forerunner of what someone could be able to order in a matter of months - in this special Fully Charged 4k preview episode.
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Excellent Jonny - the irony of this piece is not lost on me. Love the fact the sun disappeared and you were left having to wear a big warm jacket for the experience!
On a more applicable note, it's very encouraging to see Aston Martin embracing these classic conversions as you saw with Jaguar last year. I hold high hopes that you'll see a growing community of UK based enthusiasts who almost take the lead in specialising on custom EV conversions.
A lovely piece - thanks - Bernie
A conversation has a much lower environmental impact than a brand new sports car. Especially if that sportscar gets low annual mileage and a big battery.
i'm thinking jonny should have been wearing a donkey jacket to go with his jumper...
I think he should leave out the fur collars.
@@JasonSmith-ti1wf It's unlikely to be real fur. Real fur on clothing is pretty rare these days.
Then again he's sitting in a car with leather seats, and is probably wearing leather boots.
Kinda absurd to argue about a bit of (probably fake) fur.
It still boggles my mind that companies haven't rolled out direct drop-in bolt-in replacements for ICE engines and transmissions. Considering how much easier it is to create an electric crate motor than a petrol one, I'm surprised they aren't widely available. I love older vehicles, they have so much personality and style compared to modern wind tunnel designed cars.
Can't say I really agree with him on adding augmented sound, these types of cars especially should be authentic and not be faked.
Absolutely right, when questioned whether the electric engine will resemble the ICE engine, he even responds with the same argument!
@sweinberger perhaps they could incorporate a child coughing...
@sweinberger Vibrations! That was my first thought. My second thought a good electric engine will still give POWER, but if you have fake sound then you could have a inferior engine while making sound good. No to fake sound.
Agreed. From an aesthetic perspective, a fake acceleration recording to mimic the real sound will always sound contrived. The only positive is that episode Robert did with the blind guy. He was driving around central London at about 25mph, and the blind guy was really struggling to hear that a car was there. When the majority of cars are EV's, granted they can detect the person, the blind are really going to struggle trying to navigate a major city.
In certain markets, like the US, EVs are required to make some kind of noise at low speeds for parking lots, so I could see a nice piston rumble being preferrable to some kind of obnoxious beeping. Although I would much prefer the Jetson's whirring space car noise.
I'm waiting for Fiat to offer a conversion of my Panda...😉
Me too! But now that they pay Tesla to pool their respective vehicle fleets to meet EU emission requirements we might someday get an actual Fiat EV, not just that 125 (centoventicinque) concept.
That's pretty much done with what the latest electric Fiat 500e's look like. Modular, cute stuff, removable roof, etc..
Already available from a Dutch company shown on Fully charged a few months ago.
@@jimporter7418 Don't remember seeing that video, do you know the title or release date? Would love to learn more.
@@TonGi018 Difficult to find it on my phone but they did a lovely electric speed boat as well. They used to be associated with EVTV but they had a falling out about money and stuff.
You spoke about legal limits for driving classic cars, but I think the bigger reason would be the lack of stuffing around you have to do to keep cars like this running. A friend's dad has an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and you can hardly ever take it out because it's so fragile and expensive to fix. It breaks down every other day. If you had one of these and actually wanted to drive it with any regularity an electric conversion would actually make that possible.
VicMorrowsGhost people don’t drive these cars to sit in them while getting from A to B in a beautiful chassis. People buy them for the engine. And for the engine only
@@clausmadsen6754 Not really, speaking at car shows most people seem buy them for the looks.
David Knowles ok. Just me then. I even think it’s ugly and the least successful classic Aston design. To me these cars are ALL about that inline 6
@@clausmadsen6754 I think there's a few reasons people like classic cars, and the engine experience is definitely one of them. The reality of driving one of these though is like an egg and spoon race. You want to let rip but at the slightest bump something is going to break and it's going to be hecking expensive to fix. If you just love the style and want something you can drive more than once a month, this type of conversion makes a lot of sense.
VicMorrowsGhost
For me classic cars are about technique, design and craftsmanship.
Technique: for instance that inline 6
Design doesn’t need explaining
Craftsmanship: the way the restoration is done.
Aston are being very intelligent, particularly if they can get range and performance alignment.
Well. Very british. Aiming to make heritage cars drivable on streets is reasonable and it is okay if people want to expose themselves to the lack of all the safety features. But augmented sound is as annoying as real exhaustion sound.
I look forward sitting in a cafe near the street on sundays and not having to listen to the engine sounds of "car enthusiasts" who want to show the world the size of their engine.
Degrees of improvement are possible. Many old cars can have later upgraded parts added without changing the structure, in particular suspension, brakes and electrics to make them an every day driver.
What if you plug headphones into the car, and listen to the fake engine sound that way? Or, its quietly played through the speaker in the cabin.
John Michael this is truly a ship (or car) of Theseus. If an old car has its brakes, suspension and engine upgraded is it really the old car or just a memory of it ? It’s not driving the same way, it might superficially look the same but the driver will not experience what the car was like when it was new.. All that really remains the same is the original passive safety or lack thereof.
Francesco Nicoletti True, but way safer to drive in modern traffic and better than keeping the old car in a museum or scrapping it
Interesting. I am not sure about augmented sound though because for me one of the appeals of electric drive is the silence (especially around town where I'd really appreciate all the engine noise disappearing, hopefully this will change the character of cities in the future).
turn it off then :)
i'd much rather have an unbaffled generator to make the sound and make it hybrid.
this is a big nooo, I think EVs for the soccer mums and everyday cars and even for the supercars that can go 1.8sec, but this is like putting a robot in front of the royal carriage
Some people may call this sacrilege. But there will come a time when the ICE will be illegal on the road and those original cars will sit in private museums, never to turn a wheel again. This should help overcome that.
I think it varies, and if I were an Aston fan I might care more about this, but it's a grand tourer - it was always meant to look nice and take you long distances in comfort and style, while showing everyone how rich you are.
Cars like the Lamborghini Miura, with its classic NA V12, or the Lancia Delta S4 with its supercharged-turbocharged monster I4, those kinds of cars are iconic for their engines - they represent major engineering achievements, and they're also very much performance cars, and of course those iconic sounds represent that also. I think with cars like that it truly would be a waste for someone to replace the ICE.
Of course, by the same token it's a shame to ban ICE cars, but it's a necessary step. Would be nice if they could grandfather in classics, though. If we're all going to be stuck with hideous electric SUVs (since those three characteristics seem to be the future of the automobile) it'd be nice to pass the odd (proper) Beetle or Triumph or 911 or whatever, like spotting a steam loco on a modern railway.
i doubt they will ever be illegal
It's not for me to say but I will anyway. Please don't add fake sound, even if it can be turned off it is still fake. An EV should be quiet.
It should sound like this: ruclips.net/video/QdWswvLPdE0/видео.html
*dodges thrown eggs and rotten fruit*
Classic cars are often too unreliable to use as daily drivers, and something like an old Citroen just isn't feasible somewhere as harsh as here in Australia. Electric conversions will make these classic cars viable in ways they have not been previously, and re-using old cars instead of making new ones is surely the ultimate in sustainability.
Thanks for not making the usual Bond puns.
The ultimate in Sustainability indeed. And here in Africa this could really help transition to clean transportation by converting alot of the old cars around Africa
You don't buy a classic car to be reliable, you buy it because you love it's character, the way it looks, the way it sounds etc, breaking down is almost part of it. It almost wouldn't be fun without it. they're like art really, its a shame to see them being converted to electric in my opinion.
@@Olivergoodchild2 You might buy a classic car with those things in mind, not everyone. I like cars that work. I don't know about an Aston Martin - really not sure - but I'd convert something like a Citroen DS in heartbeat.
@Plazmatron I didn't say it would make it better.
@@johnknight9150 Classic cars are not necessarily unreliable. They can be but that's mainly because of aged components such as wires, connectors, hoses, etc.
But, as you stated, they offer a new view on how to use classic cars, reusing the chassis and body etc and just put a motor and battery in it. :D
Disagree that they should make it feel and sound like the original petrol that is false heritage. The key is keeping the original drive train in good working order so it can be put back in when needed / wanted.
Easier said than done! Available original parts only getting smaller and smaller each year. EV conversion in a way can save many cars from a junkyard.
This is what classic car ownership is about, people actually want to keep all the oddities of the original, even if they made them horrid to drive.
I agree totally that conversions can save many classic cars. I wasn’t arguing that the conversion should not be done. Only that it should be honest. With such a valuable car such as this it should be viable to maintain spares and tooling.
@@8agpuss Indeed, keep the drive train stored away, and just let the electric wine enter your eardrums. Embrace it fully, or don't do it at all. Like the BMW I8, my god that sound is horrendous.
Beautiful. I did the same thing with my 1999 Mazda Mx5 back in 2008, and have driven 110000 quiet kilometers since.
What type of battery are you running in it? :)
@@NewmanAutomotive at present I have 60amphr CALB lithium ion phosphate batteries. (approx 22kwhr)
Do you have more info on that conversion? I have a 99 and want to do the same.
@@walterk8602 Nice, I want to do the same one day, I'd like to get up to 40-50kw/h though. Will cost a few bob so it'll be a good few years before I can afford to do it. The plan in the meantime is to retire the MX5 to be a weekend runabout and daily drive a leased EV :)
@@walterk8602 Does that all fit in the engine bay or did you need to place some batteries elsewhere? Did you need to make a lot of mods to the original frame/body?
And fully reversable, magic
Look, I'm an EV enthusiast through and through, but goddamn, that L6 sounds sublime.
you could always slap a stereo and sound card and big speakers.
julesdingle
To do it properly you’d need some very very beefy amplifiers and speakers. Luckily electric power won’t be a problem at all. ;)
Budget won’t be much of a problem either so yes it should be feasible.
@@julesdingle not exactly
L6 or I6.. 🤔
L6 are my favorite engines next to a cammed v8...best sounds in the world
Cutting the music as he drives away was brilliant.
Even though i like cars, i'd love to see more content about other electric transport, batteries and the energy transition rather than just an (e-)auto show.
Go back through FC episodes and you'll find very varied content. Not just EV transport.
There's an episode coming later this week about solar trains, so yes, I agree with you, we have been a bit car heavy of late, but that's partly because there are now so many electric cars hitting the market. We are also doing electric ships, planes, bikes and an update on solar and powerwall developments in the next 2 months.
@@fullychargedshow thats great to hear. Thank you for the update, looking forward to it!
This show just keeps getting better and better with every episode. Brilliant presenting by carpervert and wonderfully shot and edited! Great stuff
I would love a classic mini cooper full ev with good range
I'd take one with bad range.
SuperFuzzmonkey My wife has been trying to find exactly what you’ve described for years, and she works for an major oil company in the US!
If I had a couple of million pounds to spare for buying a car, I'd have one of these, but with a hard top. No engine sounds necessary; the peace of the electric drive is far better than the sound of dinosaurs screaming.
Thanks Johnny, you lucky man!
'The sound of dinosaurs screaming' has me screaming, good one!
Couldn't agree more.
People need to calm down. We need EV cars. For the climate. It’s still historic
Love this! I'm purist enough that I would be upset if it wasn't reversible, but if everything can be put back then there's no reason not to make it more usable.
Jeremy,
how does it make it more useable, particularly if you use it for its intended grand touring role?
@@iareid8255
Because it’ll be many times more reliable, and cheaper & cleaner to run, so you just don’t have as many reasons not to drive it. Charging is much more convenient than fueling, although it might not be for touring (depends if it can DC fast charge), but I doubt many people would choose to drive great distances in this car in the 21st century anyway.
@@Jer_Schmidt
Not more reliable, I ran a 5 for about ten years. It probably is cheaper at current electricity cost but fuel revenue will have to be recouped in the not too distant future.
It still is sacrilidge to spoil a nice motor car. If it were a building it would be listed where you cannot deviate from originality.
Fine, if you want to run an electric car, just buy a new one but leave the classics alone.
I cannot agree, I just see no point at all. It cannot make the car any more desirable, it really is pointless.
@@iareid8255
Have you ever driven an EV? I’m guessing no, or I think you’d understand what makes it so desirable.
My grandfather used to restore classic cars, and I always thought it was a shame that he put so much work into them and they still had to burn gas, and were too unreliable, underpowered and inefficient to really use. He only got them out of the garage about once a year.
I’m absolutely not saying we should convert all the classics to EV; some of them need to be preserved as original. But it’s just ridiculous to let them rot in a garage because they’re too obsolete to use.
Now that’s all just my opinion, and I am a twenty-something from the US so I’m sure others will have a significantly different opinion, and that’s fine. But someday if I have the money I’ll probably do my own EV conversion (reversible of course).
An aged thing of beauty being kept alive with electricity, I'm all for it :-)
But Robert wasn't in this episode ;)
This is like putting a jet engine in a Spitfire and just as ridiculous
I'd love to see a piece on the new ULEZ legislation and what this means for the future of EV's. Possibly a piece surrounding the conversion of vehicles for that purpose.
Are there electric wheels that could convert any car to electric....plus battery controller pack.?
These episodes on conversions always remind me of that ad you can see in Back to the Future 2 for converting classic cars into flying cars. Well, we didn't get to flying cars, but EV conversions are the next best thing. Possible controversial opinion: I would perhaps consider *some* design revisions in the name of safety. Just as they've done with the engine, you could keep the original components set aside, but I think it would be prudent to add headrests and modern shoulder belts to the seats.
Good to see that British companies can still lead the way in innovation. Like it!
I love that the conversion is reversible as to not destroy the car
Why would anyone convert it back though?
I'm gutted we didn't get to see under the hood of this magnificent beauty.
Flaming: The present design is probably a hack and looks terrible, if you have seen some of the EV conversions done by others to look good you know a EV system can be made into a work of art too. Aston Martin does not want you to see under the hood until they have a design that make you go "Oh and Ah" as you trace power lines, battery cooling systems, etc. The final design should wow you if it is made right.
We saw it but were not able to publish the footage.
GDP Growth, is GDP Preserved, preservation, signatured brands, respectively worldwide. SMEs............certainties.
time to built eclctric cabriolets! there are non yet!
FidelKastrat smart car do an electric cabriolet
IMO make cars like the Beetle, Mr2, Miata ect electric. Please leave cars like the DB6 XKE, 911 ect ect alone and gasoline powered. Love the idea of electric on what was underpowered and not a classic collectable. I have been sitting on a 1968 VW Beetle for years and I am waiting for battery technology to evolve and pricing to drop.
I don't think the car is good looking.. it is old fashioned out of date just put it in a Museum where it belongs! ICE is the past EV is the future now.. Why bother to change a car from ICE to EV drive system and make it reversible? Pointless wasting time and money changing it over to the future of power systems for cars then at some point changing it back spending tons of money and time doing so! Better to leave any changed car to EV.. Fossil car engine tech is not going to suddenly make a come back say 10 years from now? By then all vehicles will be Electric no fossil engines will be running due to the pollution and noise and lack of petrol around & as for Diesel that most likely be gone far sooner than even petrol and besides by then ICE be only in the history books not in the world.
Horrible fate for an immaculate classic. EVs are bs. The point of these cars are to be fun. Bond would not be happy.
Just amazing, I hope it all going well for Aston Martin,
Absolutely criminal.
Anyone who "electrifies" these cars should be thrown in prison.
"Patreons, (...) I couldn't stand out here, in the rain, in Silverstone, with a windchill of about minus five, without you. So thank you so much." 😄😅😂🤣
Well...
Stopped at 13 mins when told not gonna show the internals, that's what I'm interested in and was already a bit "meh" at the "reversible" thing. I get designing it to be universally compatible with other vehicles, which leans it towards reversibility but keeping the exhausts and such is just silly IMO.
Don't like the colour either. Very meh, but then I'm definitely one of the unwashed masses (literally, I'm off for a shower in a minute), so it's not for me at all, in fact, they'd probably despair at the thought of me driving one.
Well in this specific case we are talking about an extremely rare and pricey car, it is in essence and analog to restoring an old painting... people certainly wouldn't want you to make big changes.
@@MsSomeonenew How many old painting restorations are reversible?
Without the gargle of the webbers there really is no piont. But this does open up a big opportunity to the replica manufacturers
Wonderful machine, you're such a lucky git, Jonny.
The DB6 has a beautiful DOHC straight six, and anything else is just wrong‼️🧐🧐🧐
Well done Jonny, what a great idea.
22:01 The abominable rainman. - nice production, well done!
The ironic thing is this car is probably way quicker as an EV than it ever was as the woefully under powered straight six, Be interesting to see a comparison with there modern v8 amg engine astons to 60 & 100 mph
The only thing these cars have going for them is looks. Apart from that they're all old oily shitboxes! An EV conversion makes total sense. Great work FC team.
The service history for a DB5 in 100 years is going to be pretty fantastic:1964. DB5 is shipped from factory.1964. DB5 received upgrades, including but not limited to:
bullet proof glass, oil slick propellant, ejector seat, smoke screen.2021. DB5 converted by Aston Marten to EV.2049. DB5 wheels upgraded to retractable anti gravity flying models.
I'm sorry I would cry if I did not hear the engine, depressing
Absolutely brilliant!! Once again Jonny has given us a great review. Watching this has made me very happy even though it was a bit of a tease. Although, I can understand Aston Martin's reasons as the car is still in development. Love the idea of marrying classic cars with EV, if done sympathetically. Would really like to see more conversion reviews on FC.
What a shame that they couldn't tell where they got the motor and controller from. Also the current battery size would help to get an idea of it's approx range.
Range will be the same as the original at the same weight, they claim.
Even with the original tailpipe. That’s still a grand looking car.
Hate it, absolutely hate them doing things like this.
Agreed Charles would definitely convert his DB5 to EV.
It’s a shame the seats are made of dead animals though.
Selling new electric cars isn’t going to replace the numbers on the roads for 40 years.
This idea of replacing drive train could accelerate ice replacement on the rods massively. Especially as many manufacturers use common ice packages. We need a company to start creating pick n mix systems to cover the wide range of cars out there’re now. Packages could be installed by any garage capable of engine replacements. I have a perfectly fine car. I’m not spending 30 grand to replace it. But I would spend 3 grand to convert it.
So we are not seeing the engine and battery then?
Ha, Johnny had more qualms about this than the specialist from Aston Martin.
I like the idea of an iconic engine in a presentation case to fire up only for New Year's in stead of obnoxious fireworks.
No muffler, lots of noise.
Thanks Aston! Thanks FC! Someone give Jonny a hat for the cold days...
Exactly he wouldn't have felt the cold with a woolly hat on,most of the bodies heat is lost through the head.
Nice one Jonny. I’m just finishing my 1970 Lotus Europa conversion. Great to see more and more of this type of conversion. Too true about the generational shift regarding internal combustion engines. Choke? Oil level? Battery fluid levels? No car is ever maintenance free but EVs certainly reduce the effort. I constantly get asked about battery fires. Petrol has never caught fire, right?
The artificial sound should be at least volume adjustable and has the ability to be turned off.
Few different sound options would be nice - maybe futuristic, spaceships or nature inspired - like birds chirping?..
Such a wonderful show. Wonderful wonderful wonderful. Amazing editing. Amazing presenting. And all shown at a really nice pace.
Well done!! Thank you for making and sharing these videos Fully Charged.
(And Bring back the battery logo ;) )
Thanks for another awesome video Jonny! You are like a rock star, driving a prototype of this rarity and value. Personally, I love the idea, it would be great to see classic and modern exotic sports cars with this conversion available. That way they could be driven daily in regular traffic without the high maintenance and fuel costs, pollution free and with even higher performance available. How about a 1961 Ferrari GT 250 California EV (Ferris anniversary edition)?
Very nice video, thank You 🙏🏼!
I like that music too. What/Who is it? Especially the last jazzy track with horns while driving.
I like the idea, there are a lot of nice looking cars. Older cars, cars that yes are stuck with engines that just can't enter cities anymore or are expensive to keep up. Yeah I know, some cars are expensive to own. But even not such expensive cars are stuck with that situation.
Most modern cars, are not nice looking, they lack style. So an Electric "old" car? Fine.. fine!
Rolls went from the beautiful Silver Shadow styling, to a Brick on wheels, I like the classic look much better.
@@NomadicPhoton I agree, styling these days... even on luxury cars. It just...
This is the wrong classic car to convert. Sacrilege.
Try a Volvo 1800.
True vision and commitment to keeping the brand alive, developing a reversible EV conversion.
What's the name of the soundtrack? So cool. Reminds me of sneaking into the secret jazz company at 15, in Leicester.
I can't wait for General Motors to recreate the Electrovair. It was the best idea the ever had. I will buy two. Go Fully Charged, your the best.
The car is GORGEOUS!!! But that jazzy music is stuck in my head! Hahaha! Title and artist, please?
I’d rather they commission an official replica. Seems a shame to lose one of the originals in its stock configuration.
Oh lord so jealous Jonny a classic Aston my dream ride
Even if you don't love cars, you have to admit it is a beautiful design...
I love what they are doing. Why "Chuck it out" when you can up-cycle it, and make it better for the environment at the same time? I hope to see this happen with more and more vehicles in the future to be honest!
We'll always have some ICE vintage cars, the planet can handle a few... so no need to apologise for doing this.
I'm not a car fan, I'm a technology fan. Even I think this car is sexy.
Tuned air pump on the exhaust might work for sound.
Ruined. Basically an Aston Martin milk float.
Why why why?????
If they banned petrol I could understand it but this is sacrilege!
No fast charging. :-( But, I suppose that's beside the point in a car like this. No rush intended.
Wot no look under the hood?
I was wondering who did the conversion given the value of the base car- not the kind of thing your average [or above average] EV conversion would lightly approach. [I wonder what the business insurance would be to do the job]
OMFG......WOW......Well well well done Aston Martin, my goodness, I was left speechless.....my son looked at me and said " dad, ya look like a dumbass.....what ya been watching? " says it all.
WOW...... so sexy and very very clever. Amazing!!
Groovy :)
I admire Aston for keeping things "heritage" but im not sure where I sit on the EV version doing the same distance/0-60 etc as the old. I sort of think if you do an EV conversation part of the excitement is having a slightly quicker car. Im not saying stupid Tesla speeds (who honestly needs a 0-60 in 2. something seconds??!) I'd rather have more range than acceleration...7 or 8 seconds fine. And worrying is it'll still have the range.....I can see why having a heritage 0-60 is ok if it did 250 real world miles.....but im sure going by the original you'll be charging this every 100.
Ans secondly, I can see an issue is resale with classic cars, where maybe the ICE version costs more than an EV....fine if you have Aston ready to put your engine back in, but most of us won't. Would we find a willing mechanic/EV garage to put back an engine back into our old ford escort??
People need to relax with the whole sound thing. Just relax. And enjoy the ride.
There's nothing wrong with driving a quiet car. It's way classier. Especially with convertibles. Wind in your hair. Enjoying nature. Sublime.
Preferring the noise is actually weird. Saying a ride is only enjoyable if there's a lot of noise is like saying hiking can only be enjoyable if you carry a boombox at top volume all the way. People are just used to equating noise with power. Power can be silent. Immense power actually.
SO! WHERE'S THE EV PORN? I watched the video thinking 'We're going to see the motor, inverter, battery and all the beefy cables in a minute' NOTHING! Com'on Jonny! You should have wangled some video of under the bonnet (hood)!
I have a slightly rare Volvo 780 Bertone with the PRV 6 , converting it to electric makes perfect sense to me. Not sure about the ultra rare being converted though. Take a W.O. Bentley or a Bugatti it's all about the engine. The rich can pay carbon taxes for limited use of these cars anyway. Getting the masses off petroleum is what really counts. Maybe after market emissions controls could be advanced for ultra classics instead.
By all means Aston should produce a EV, or at the very least a PHEV. But this? NO, NO, NO. What next knock down St Pauls, The Albert Hall, etc, etc. Part of the delights of old style vehicles is the ‘engine’.
We are all interested in resource use and we care about changing the throw away society. On the other hand modern cars - say post 2010 are pretty good, there is not much missing in a 2010 car compared to a 2019 car - most have the main safety items, handling and other features of more modern cars, though they may not have stability control and some refinements like that. Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to have a cost effective EV conversion for most cars post 2010? It would give them a new lease of life, add some modern features like stability control etc.. and save them from going to the scrap heap. Does anyone think this is feasible? I'd love to be able to choose a motor/battery/controller option from several manufacturers and have a 2010-on vehicle converted to EV as an industry.
whahaha I don't think they will get far with this car with a normal charging cable.. they build in the wrong type 2 socket in the car! (Or is it me??...) See 13:50! I do think it s a nice conversion btw. Good job!
Thanks, good show but next time get the camera crew more active showing us the viewers what the car is all about; engine engine bay, storage area, suspension and so on that would be awesome and more fun to watch then seeing two people talking all the time. Thanks.
"And in a hundred years' time it's possible that something will replace EV technology". Wow, now that is an insight, if I ever heard one...
Love it how people are clueless about the nature of technological progress. The next 100 years are very likely to see more change than the past 1000 years have. Current EVs will look like horse carriages look to us now. In 100 years' time, the most interesting thing in this car for younger people will be the back "seat", imho. Also, this talk about working hard to imitate the sound and feel of a regular car or about how this car is reversible back to ICE, is what made this video actually surreal for me, not the fact that it was driven at 45mph silently on the Silvestone. On the other hand, not really a Brit, had little to no idea about this car before, so possibly I'm missing something crucial here...
I somewhat understand why someone would electrify a car. But a rare, high value classic car? Having an old car isn’t just about the look. It’s about the whole driving experience. You lose that with a conversion, whether it’s electric or a modern drivetrain.
Really superb they care for their customers enough to offer this service. Most companies wouldn’t. And the augmented sound some in the comments aren’t fond of, they could make it optional/switchable.
Sir Paul McCartney also had one of these (coupe) in a very tasteful green. I want to see a fully electric modern Aston that doesn't look overly futuristic and is just pretty to look at. I love their modern cars too but the design language can be a bit aggressive.
A great idea, and something to think about for all owners of classic vehicles that they would seek to use on public roads.
As has already been said many of these classics were unreliable as every day runners, so win,win!
I personally think the "fake" engine noise idea is pointless, silence is golden, it'll make cities and built up areas so much more habitable.
Good video with a beautiful car and interesting philosophical discussion. Got to give AM credit for this gesture of faith in the future.
being that Tesla Batteries will probably outlast most of their cars, we are kind of seeing the end of Classic Cars. We may start to actually need to love things from the 80's and earlier, whether they were crap or not.
it s cool, but really, a modern replica would be more interesting.
I d copy the body to specs, but have a completely different mechanics.
driving an original would be nerve wrecking and no fun at all.
The driving experience of old cars - and especially cars like an Aston or a Jag - is based for a predominant part on the engine - the combustion engine. As one can notice in this video, the silent running takes away this part. I could not imagine to have a DB6 and driving it without the real heart of it - the straight 6. It is still a nice car but only the half of it.
WHAT IS THAT FANTASTIC MUSIC !! Please, could someone help me out? I LOVE it!! All trumpity and go go boots...
I like EVs, and I like classic cars. Personally though, I'm not keen on these types of conversions.
The imperfections of old internal combustion engines are what contribute so much to older cars. The smells, the noises, the wafts of heat from the engine bay, and the peril of looming breakdowns and watching the guages like a hawk!
DrMike: You just listed all the reasons to go electric in my mind.
DrMikeOxgreen I too appreciate these parts of old car ownership, but many don’t. The EV conversion gives new owners of old cars options.