Classic cars garner recognition for several reasons, but their performance often plays a role. In other cases, while athleticism is meager, styling or pop culture makes a vehicle a classic all on its own. The DeLorean DMC-12 falls in the latter category but a new electromodding company might have a fix. That ‘fix’ is a ‘drop-in’ or ‘plug-and-play’ kit that exchanges the stock V6 for an all-electric drivetrain. That includes a 43 kWh battery that sits where the fuel tank would. In addition, a single electric motor powers the rear axle with 215 hp and 310 Nm of torque. That’s a huge jump over the original 130 hp and 207 Nm this car had.
According to Electrogenic, the company behind the drivetrain swap, this upgrade cuts the 0-100 km/h time from 10 seconds to just under 5 seconds—not bad at all. It’s compatible with both manual and automatic versions of the DeLorean. Steve Drummond, the CEO of Electrogenic, believes the DeLorean is an obvious choice for an EV powertrain swap—because what better way to fix a car known more for its looks than its performance.
Here’s why this electromod might be
perfect: sure, it dramatically improves performance, but that’s not the whole
story. The kit enhances performance without stripping away any of the notable
features of the original. In fact, as an EV, it’s almost more in harmony with
the original vision and adds just 40 kg to the stock weight.
Notably, the entire swap is completely
reversible. It doesn’t require cutting, fabricating, or modifying the chassis.
No car is perfect, but this one checks a lot of boxes. Just be sure to have
between £ 65,000 and £ 85,000 (US$ 82,000-107,000) on hand for the swap,
depending on the condition of the donor car and the rates from Electrogenic’s
partners.
