There are plenty of firms turning classic cars – including Land Rovers – into EVs, but UK-based Bedeo’s new Land Rover Defender conversion is unusual because it uses in-wheel motors. In-wheel, or hub-motor, tech is something we’ve seen plenty of times on concept cars, but almost none of the the new EVs you can buy, or any of the restomod EV conversions available, have gone down that route. Most place an electric motor where a combustion one would normally sit, and drive the wheels through ICE-car-style driveshafts. But the first car from Bedeo’s Reborn Electric: Icons series powers its wheels with power generated within them.
Four hub motors develop a combined 483 hp and allow individual control of the torque to each wheel. A
75 kWh battery gives an estimated range of 247 km, which isn’t
great, but then the original Defender is incredibly un-aerodynamic and also so
hideously uncomfortable on long journeys that it’s probably plenty. Bedeo says
a standard 22 kW on-board charger can fill the battery completely in five
hours, or you can achieve an 80 percent fill in 45 minutes (90 minutes to 100
percent) if you have access to a 50 kW supply.
Using hub motors allows Bedeo to junk the
Landie’s driveshafts, which saves some weight, although the unsprung mass at
each corner is presumably much greater with all the electric guts dangling at
the end of each suspension coil together with the brakes and wheels themselves.
But judging from these images of the prototype creating a splash, the Defender
hasn’t lost its love for water.
Bedeo says its Reborn Electric: Icons
series will soon be extended beyond the Defender because the same in-wheel
hardware could be applied to any number of other classics and non-classics –
the company already has a thriving business converting vans, trucks and buses
to electric power for fleet operators. It even makes EV kits for marine
applications, allowing boat builders to offer their customers an electric option
when speccing their new watercraft.
There’s no indication of how much the
electric Defender will cost, but we’re guessing the modern Defender EV Land
Rover is currently developing will be faster, more affordable and have a longer
range, albeit without the charm/flaws of the converted old timer.