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As more engineers spend more time creating electric conversions, we get more elegant solutions to turn ICE power to battery power. England-based Electrogenic produces a few especially tidy kits for several vehicles, its latest a fit for two generations of the Porsche 911, the G-Body (1974-1989) and 964-Series (1989-1994). The hero car here is a 1985 Carrera rebodied to look like a 1973 Carerra RS. The unique selling proposition is that the conversion is plug-and-play — nothing on the chassis needs to be cut, the components bolt into existing mounts, and the charging port sits behind the fuel filler door.
There are two versions available, both built around a 62-kWh battery and providing an all-electric range of 180 to 200 miles. The E62 kit gets an e-motor sending 215 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque through a pair of new driveshafts, getting the coupe from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds. Compare that to the standard G-Body Carrera in the North American market, which made 217 hp and 195 lb-ft from a 3.2-liter flat-six for its last two years on sale. The succeeding 964-series fitted a 3.6-liter flat-six that made 250 hp and 229 lb-ft at launch, putting the base Electrogenic kit in the ballpark of regular 911 outputs, obviating the need for upgrades to suspension or brakes to manage the power.
The more potent e-motor kit ups output to 322 hp and 310 lb-ft., dropping the 0-60 time to 3.8 seconds. The company advises that this one “requires some careful thinking about suspension geometry and setup.”
The package includes all of the system’s power electronics, slotted into the space where the fuel tank lived. New digital information feeds run to the stock gauge cluster to monitor what’s happening. The fuel level gauge tracks battery capacity, the oil temperature gauge tracks e-motor temperature, the oil pressure gauge relates the amount of battery regeneration. The clear tell in the cabin is the manual transmission lever replaced by a rotary knob. A hidden tell is the two 400-volt heaters in the cabin under the dashboard, the units warming up the occupant space faster and better than the stock heater.
Max charging rate comes in at 50-kW, refilling the battery in about one hour. Plugged into a Level 2 home charger, recharging takes about eight hours.
As for dynamics, roughly 40 kWh of the battery lives in the frunk, the remainder in back with the e-motor. We’re told getting that battery weight in the nose remakes the front-to-rear weight balance from 40:60 to 49:51. The conversion adds about 220 pounds to a car that weighed about 2,865 pounds in late-model Carrera guise, so purists could be torn between more weight versus more evenhanded driving dynamics. Company engineer Alexander Bavage said, “We aim to build cars that are great to drive from an engineering point of view, rather than simply from a purist’s perspective.”
Electrogenic’s nominating a growing number of shops around the world to perform conversions. The company says the overhaul is expected to cost about $120,000, not including the donor car, but final prices are set by the shop. Electrogenic’s work isn’t limited to Porsche, either. It’s motto being “The future of classic cars,” it’s already engineered plug-and-play kits for the Jaguar E-Type, Triumph Stag, and Land Rover Defender, with more to come.
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