Zelectric 912 on Jay Leno's Garage...

[fanaudical]

Sacrilege? Or extending the life of our favorite cars?

[oldE]

I loved it!
I laughed out loud the first time I saw an exterior shot of the car squatting and zipping out of the frame as Jay nailed the "not so" loud pedal. Definitely NOT a 90 hp four banger in that.
Very nice installation.
I wish they had mentioned the wheels. They made me think of Fuchs with the petals cut out. Anyone recognize them?

Best
Les

[sc_rufctr]

I think the wheels are from Magnus Walker.

Great video and I really like the idea of being able to return the car to "normal".

[ckelly78z]

Now that is an electric car that I could love/drive...not a big fan of the TESLA styling, but I respect the drivetrain.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I think the wheels are from Magnus Walker.

That, and the doorhandles.

I found the episode hard to watch. (I could barely watch it a second time, ha ha.) The car has an odd look from every angle because the stance is all wrong. Maybe it's the wheels but the tires need more sidewall. That said, the interview was disjointed and hard to listen to. The engineer should have done all the talking because the guy in the black jacket offered very little to the conversation, and JL seemed to be having an off day - which is becoming the usual during these interviews lately. He asks questions and it's obvious he's barely listening to the answers.

The drive was the best part but there's something incongruous about a silent 912 to my mind.

I appreciate the amount of effort this car took to complete but like all hotrods, you can't please everyone and this missed the mark by a large margin in my mind.

[911 Rod]

That thing must have cost 100 grand to build.
Can't see it ever going back to stock.
Cool though.

[GH85Carrera]

I always wonder what the approximate cost for all projects like that really is.

Bring a nice running car, and how much money to go electric? And to be able to go just 60 miles from home is a bit silly. I can go that far and never leave Oklahoma City.

Maybe the day I have my Jay Leno size collection of cars, I can have one of those as a toy.

[porsche4life]

I think those are pretty sweet. Not sure I’d convert an old Porsche, but I could get down with an EV bug or Ghia. Those swaps end up being way faster than the original. 100mi or so of range would be plenty for cruising around town and going to grab coffee a few times a month.

[stevej37]

^^^ agree..an ev ghia would be much better.

[Por_sha911]

It is a cool looking car and the conversion is nicely done. It doesn't look like earlier conversion hack jobs I've seen.

A few things stuck in my mind:
-One of them said you could bring it to a car show and Porsche people wouldn't notice. Really? All those pipes on the lower driver side stood out to me immediately.
-They said the current configuration is "only" 300 lbs heavier. That should affect handling but maybe the balance will offset that. They said it had a better front to rear weight balance but didn't say how much. Only 3% more in the front is "better".
-One of the guys dinged the 912 because of dependability and all the tinkering. I'll take a good condition 912 ice for easy to fix and lets see how well that car is dependable in 50 years.
-It seemed to have a lot of hop in the front as it went down the road but it could have been just the road they were on.

The biggest issue to me is 120 mile range. I could use the car to go shopping in town but all that improved pickup and performance is means nothing if I can't go on a ride more than 60 miles. The weight penalty to get up to 200 is big and then the question is how much more money?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Love it, could easily see myself driving a EV converted classic

My Gen 1 Toyota 4Runner which would make a great 'quiet' car for open topped cruising around on gravel mountain roads around national parks while taking in all sights/sounds of nature

EV's are so much more less noise intrusive but why do all the new one's have to look so damn ugly

[porsche4life]

The new ID4 isn’t bad. I think we are going to see more “mainstream” Evs soon

[Sooner or later]

https://www.zelectricmotors.com/faq

What’s a typical project cost when I already own the car?
Each Zelectric retrofit project includes proprietary upgrades, modifications and conversion, all of which vary by model to some degree.

The base price for retrofitting your Beetle, Karmann Ghia or 356 is $68,000 USD. Retrofit for the VW Microbus starts at $74,000, and zelectrification for 911/912 Porsches will start anywhere from $68,000 to $88,000- depending on build options selected.

Other than its engine, your vehicle should be in “investment-worthy” condition. Shipping is your responsibility, but we can help arrange and coordinate it. All work takes place here in our San Diego shop.