What were they thinking?

[Lander]

This was on the news a couple of days ago.
Found an article about it on the interwebs, but it is in Dutch. So I tryed to translate it.
I do apologise for the crappy english.

for the dutch speaking
Hier is een linkje

The belgian company N. Solar has found a niche: they get rid of the engines in old classic sports cars and replace them with an electric one. Price: Between 15.000 and 40.000 Euro.

The 1969 Porsche 912 from the owners of the company looks normal, except there is a small cap that hides a socket. Also, underneath the hood there?s a huge battery and electro engine. Whoever drives with this ?race?car, do it in complete silence.

?The electro motor does not make very much noise? state Klaas Martens from N.Solar. ?Old cars like this one are normally real petrol guzzlers. Because of the high fuel prices, a lot of car enthousiasts tend to leave their cars in the garage. Then a electric powered car is a good alternative. And finally you can drive around in a sexy electric car.?

N.Solar has had many request for converting older cars. ?We have only ended the test phase now?, Martens Says,? The most difficult part of the job is getting the paperwork done. There are no rules and regulations available for getting the car approved.?

The price of the car is not low: you don?t have to dream about getting one for less than 15.000 euros. ?But in the price is the car and the conversion?, Martens says,?For cars with stronger batteries, which go faster and longer, the price rate to 40.000 euros?.

A lot of vintage car enthousiast shiver by the thought of an old engine, the heart of all these legendery cars, getting disposed. ?They don?t have to fear anything. We don?t damage the car by cutting in to it.? Martens replies,? Speeding up is still by thouching the gas pedal. You can easily hit 140 kph, and with the best batteries you can get a distance of 300 kilometers.

I mean, like, really... what is the point of driving an old porsche without the sound of that gorgeous flat six....
And I think the most people who drive that sort of classics don't give a sh*t about fuel prices, they only drive it occasionally... it's a hobby, people like to spent al lot of money on a hobby. It's like someone who wants a horse but think it's to expensive and buyes a rocking horse instead.

 

[Cobol74]

The Porsche milk float.

 

[Cowboy]

Bruges....what a shithole.
And the guy looks like a douchy dwarf.

Get you hands off those classics you opportunistic wave of ecoreligion riding philistines.

 

[janstett]

The 912 is one of the most shunned models because it is basically a 911 with a four cylinder engine. Very low on the pecking order. It doesn't get treated well at the Porsche Club events -- down with the 924 and 914.

I don't see this as very different from, for example, an LS1 engine swap. If you have a ratty, less valued model or even a good one with a shot motor, why not?

* don't touch a true classic that has a chance at restoration

 

[Labcoatguy]

Yeah, it's easy to forget that "classic" engines were often crap. Say what you will about originality, but MGBs, Porsche 912s and even 914s, and Austin-Healey Sprites are often improved with an engine swap, electric or otherwise. I say more power to them, no pun intended.

 

[ninjacoco]

If they're not using that 912 engine, um, there's this purple car...