Is this 1961 Bentley the rarest car converted to an EV?

Article content

Classic-car electric-vehicle conversions aren’t for everyone—for some, in fact, they’re tantamount to blasphemy. If you count yourself among those purists who can’t stand it when people take the gasoline-fed engine out of an older auto and transplant an EV motor in its place, we’ll warn you now, you may want to stop reading this piece while you can.

Article content

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Is this 1961 Bentley the rarest car converted to an EV? Back to video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

For those who can stomach it, we’ll report the news that British firm Lunaz has apparently just pulled off what it calls “the world’s rarest upcycled electric vehicle”—”upcycled” being Lunaz’s term for a car that’s undergone an EV conversion. It says that title belongs to the 1961 Bentley S2 Continental, which Lunaz just stripped of its 6.2-litre V8 and outfitted with an electric motor. The car is reportedly one of just four bodied by coachbuilder James Young of London.

If it makes you feel better, Lunaz performed a bare-metal restoration on the car, too. The new powertrain underneath puts its electrons to work to generate 400 bhp and 530 lb-ft of torque, close to double the output of the original eight. Fully charged, the Conti now has a range of about 250 miles (400 km) and can pull off the zero-to-100-km/h spring in 6.9 seconds—nice.

Article content

Stopping power is improved, too, with the drums dumped for discs – six-piston grabbers in front, four-piston ones out back – and a regenerative braking system installed to help power up the battery. A new set of coil springs can be adjusted electronically from inside the cabin.

Speaking of, that cabin has been retrofitted with sustainable materials, says Lunaz. Inside you’ll still find yourself surrounded by wood veneer, just sourced from suppliers approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council. The seats are still swathed in leather, though those hides are now tanned using olive leaves that had fallen off their trees naturally. And the carpet is regenerated nylon, fixed to a backing made from recycled plastic bottles.

Article content

“This magnificent Bentley S2 Continental was already an exceptional motor car, as one of just a few examples of its type that remain in the world,” says Lunaz founder David Lorenz. “In its new guise, it’s the rarest vehicle ever to be converted to fully electric propulsion, and the most exclusive project we’ve ever undertaken at Lunaz Design.”

While Lunaz has not made mention of the car’s state prior to its conversion, it did post a photo of the stripped-down car wearing a likely-non-original metallic red finish, probably picked up at some point during a lifetime spent in collections spanning from Germany to Japan. Back in its native Britain, the Lunaz Bentley Continental is sure to cause a stir wherever it goes—especially when it zips silently by the ears of purists who can’t stand EV conversions.