Electric 1982 Range Rover runs on 15 Tesla Model S batteries…and over everything a Range Rover should.
Jaguar Land Rover made headlines several months ago when it announced its push for a greater amount of electrified vehicles by 2020. As the Fully Charged Show video above makes clear, one company in the UK has already made a fully electric Range Rover.
Granted, it’s not a modern Range Rover, but it’s still an impressive feat, especially for a boutique business. Electric Classic Cars started with a 1982 Range Rover that was in good physical shape, but terrible mechanical condition. The engine kept causing problems in one way or another. ECC yanked it out and filled the engine bay with five Tesla Model S P95 batteries and an electric motor. In the back, ECC removed the fuel tank and replaced it with 10 more Model S power packs and a protective skid plate while only minimally reducing rear cargo space. Even more eyebrow-raising is the fact that, despite a weight increase of 220 pounds, the Range Rover still weighs slightly less than a Model S.
Total output is 80 kWh, enabling a range of around 175 miles. The juiced-up rig routes its 220 lb-ft of instant torque through its original gearbox and transfer case. A dashboard switch activates the regenerative braking system’s most aggressive setting, which host Robert Llewellyn uses to get down muddy grades in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Despite having narrow street tires and no throaty gas or diesel engine, the Range Rover gets through every watery bog and over every muddy trail Llewellyn points its square nose at.
We’ve enjoyed the regular diesel and gas engines that Land Rover offers in its current vehicles, but if this video is a sign of what to expect from future LRs, consider us charged up about them.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
