Vintage Voltage

Entrepreneurs Mark and Charlie want to build a new business selling electric Porsche 911s and they've asked Moggy to develop the prototype. Tasked with improving every aspect of the car – from handling to top-end speed – this is a mission Porsche-loving-Moggy is happy to take on. If he succeeds then there will be more 911 commissions to come. 

But converting an air-cooled petrol car, and maintaining the front to back weight balance, pushes the team to their limits. A track day test duel with a high performance petrol 911 awaits….. if the team can complete the car to a tight deadline.

Owner Leighton bought his DeLorean with the idea of converting it to electric – so he can drive to work in it and have the worlds' coolest commute. A huge ‘Back to the future' fan, he wants its under-powered petrol engine and poor handling to be transformed by a retro electric fit. But this unusual two door coupe needs a complete engineering makeover and the team have to totally restore the interior. When completed, how will this electric car perform on a daily commute and will it be the dream DeLorean which finally lives up to the film icon image?

Moggy creates a Mini with ten-times more power than the old petrol version, for enthusiastic owner Simon. The car has been in Simon's family since the 1970s and after a full restoration and EV conversion he wants to hand it on to his daughters.

The Mini is a very small car, so trying to shoehorn in a powerful Tesla motor to the tiny engine bay is a mission. Then electrical issues with a battery box threaten to stop the project in its tracks. Eventually the team finish this challenging build and take it to a nearby airfield for a ‘flat out' test drive.

The VIP owner of a 1970 Land Rover wants to remain in the shadows and bankroll the conversion from afar. Not fazed by their mystery client the team crack on, converting this 4x4 for an electric offroad life. ECC have converted Land Rovers before but this older, more fragile car is in desperate need of restoration and is taken back to a bare shell before they begin the painstaking work of creating a 21st century E-Landie. Moggy decides on a full-on test drive across the wilds of Wales, but will the EV be able to tackle the tough terrain?

This 55-year-old, classic camper has been a family friend for owner Nick for years. But it is unreliable, slow and hard to drive so now he wants to convert it to electric. Moggy knows and loves all things VW, so he relishes the chance to give this old bus a new lease of electric life. Nick wants the camper to look the same but perform like a 21st century EV. The team struggle to make his vision a reality as they strengthen, update and convert the car….. while retaining the original patina.

Owners Tom and Aleks love their eccentric ‘bubble car' but are too scared to drive it on the London streets. It is slow and has a dangerously difficult gear change, but they can see a bright future for the little microcar if Moggy can convert it to electric. This is the first three-wheeler the team have tackled and the unique engineering challenges need ingenious space-saving solutions.

Super-cheap motoring and a congestion zone free life await our city slickers if ECC can nail this micro conversion and get the Isetta back on its three wheels. 

When entrepreneur Aeron drops off his 1971 VW Beetle he hopes to kickstart a new business selling electric classics direct to the public through his dedicated E-Showroom. For Moggy the challenge is to convert the Beetle at a price which will give Aeron enough profit margin to develop and grow his business idea. Moggy needs to keep a close eye on every cost, to ensure that this car is a practical electric conversion with a realistic end sale price.  When they discover damage to the paintwork, a potentially expensive respray threatens both the budget and the business model.

The BMW ‘Batmobile'- nicknamed after its outrageous body kit - is a 1970s racetrack icon. Owner Michael had one on a poster on his bedroom wall as a child, but now he dreams of creating a super quick E-BMW. Bought as a non-runner at auction his car is riddled with rot and has an interior full of mould. With a nut and bolt, bare metal restoration and full upgrade to a 450HP Tesla motor this build challenges the whole ECC team as they work to get this car shipshape for super yacht captain Michael.

Only 99 of these bespoke British sports tourers were ever built. It used to be a V8 petrol gas guzzler, but owner Anthony now wants a clean, speed machine. Everything about this car is handmade, from the interior to the fibreglass bodywork. Moving the motor from the front to the rear of the car is tough enough, but ECC also have to build a one-off cage inside the car to handle the weight of the new batteries. And when the car catches fire during some complex welding….the team wonder if they will ever complete this conversion.

Owner Lee loves his 944 - which has a reputation as one of the best handling Porsches ever built - but it has become unreliable, and with advancing age he finds it hard to drive. Moggy is tasked with converting this manual coupe into an automatic, easy-to-drive electric sportscar. It's a massive mission as he has to move the powerplant from the front to the rear and balance the weight of the new batteries.