This Datsun 240Z is all-electric: cool restomod or sacrilege?

Once they were former airfields. Now they are former farms. Because there is a lot going on in the barns of these often remote places. This one is in the most remote hinterland of British Dorset, although it has been completely renovated with fresh concrete, fresh paint and new buildings.

Part of Silent Classics is Rotron, a division that does fascinating things with rotary engines for drones and other things, and across the yard is Parajet, where they’re used to power the fans that allow people to fly. Jack Kerridge worked there before he went out on his own. He’s tall and lanky and has a bewildered professorial air. The kind of guy you can tell from a mile away that he’s up for a strange project.

How to start converting classics

His first passion was converting a Fiat 126 into an electric car. It’s always parked outside and doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, because Jack has moved on to more important things. But first of all: why cars? “It’s in my blood. My dad restores classic cars, so it was instilled in me from a young age. And then it happened here.”

So Jack is one of many manufacturers who have seen the value in bringing classic cars back to life by giving them a new electric future. But unlike many others, he has been inspired more by the technical side of things than the commercial, perhaps lucrative, side. The 126 has been a learning experience; he has learned a lot about reusing electrical components and how to make them work together.

Photo: © TopGear / Jonny Fleetwood

The money is mostly made with the Fiat 500. “It is perfectly suited to electric propulsion and all the parts fit perfectly into the existing chassis.” About 15 examples have been built to date and demand is still so high that the manufacturer may be considering making it a separate business unit and a completely separate premium brand. Not bad considering that Silent Classics was only founded a few years ago.

Here the classics are electrified

Jack’s crew consists of five men, all young and versatile. “We do almost everything ourselves, and even when we hire workers or subcontract, we prefer to have them work here,” he says. It’s not all electrical work. Huge towers dominate one side of the shop, welders crackling and spitting sparks. But the electrical side is interesting.

The classic approach of “taking a wrecked Tesla and building something new around it” doesn’t appeal to Kerridge. He’s more of a custom engineer. Each car is fitted with the exact components that best suit his skill set. Many of these components have been used before. “It’s getting harder and harder to find used batteries, so sometimes we use new batteries,” Kerridge says. “We take those batteries apart and put them together in our own case.”

This allows the team to make battery packs that fit snugly into the spaces of donor cars. But because they’re paired with all sorts of electric motors, Silent Classics has to make all the control electronics themselves. “We use open source software to help us do that and we help improve it,” Kerridge says.

What other classics are being converted?

The workshop is full of projects in progress. There’s a classic Range Rover perched on a bridge, while parts are being fabricated for its underside. A Bond Bug sits wheel arch to wheel arch with a cream Jaguar SS and a beautiful Topolino.

Once it is equipped with a 21 kWh battery and a 60 hp engine, you, as a resident of any Mediterranean villa, would want to go there every morning to buy bread. Somewhere in the air floats a motorcycle project that you work on in your free time.

The 240Z Restomod Specs

But the crown jewel of this place right now is an electric Datsun 240Z. It wasn’t built for a customer, it was built for Kerridge himself. It’s small and powerful. It’s got a 36kWh battery pack mated to a twin electric motor that’s already made its debut in a Lexus GS 450h and produces 320bhp. This isn’t an electric vehicle that weighs two tonnes or more.

Kerridge has also used it for experimental purposes: there are driving modes to choose from, an integrated tablet acts as a central touchscreen and the buttons are custom-made. You do, however, have to turn the key to start it and there’s a good old handbrake, just for fun.

Photo: © TopGear / Jonny Fleetwood

And you’ll have fun. A buzz accompanies us as we leave the yard. The spinning of wheels. Whatever you want, whenever you want it, you can have it. Kerridge reckons the weight distribution is about 50/50, with the motors and inverters mounted on the rear axle to counterbalance the mass of the batteries under the bonnet. But that doesn’t mean the eco-tyres are up to the 320bhp unleashed on a 1,300kg girth.

Mixed feelings about the electric Datsun 240Z

The battery pack is well mounted, but of course it is not a straight-six. This is also why we are often skeptical of such cars, which used to have a charismatic engine and are now equipped with emotionless electrons. But fortunately, there is a feeling of connection: the wooden gear lever. It feels nice, the magnets that attract each other help you shift “emotionally” and provide resistance when disengaging when changing from forward to reverse.

It’s not quite perfect yet. Kerridge admits that customers come first and so the work isn’t done continuously. There’s still a “clack” from the driveshaft every time you release or press the right pedal, and at 60 km/h there’s a wobble somewhere that you still have to find the source of.

But the whole experience – sitting in it, in this compact little machine behind that long, sleek nose and short, thin window pillars, encased in rich leather – is spellbinding. Perhaps it’s because we’ve never really been drawn to the 240Z the way we have to other sports cars that we can relate to this one, while we still struggle to relate to electrified 911s.

How does an electric 240Z drive?

But it’s probably even more due to the fact that this 240Z has a raw side. Kerridge is the first to admit that he is sometimes a little afraid of the car. And so are we, especially in the rain. Today, fortunately, the weather is beautiful and it’s the perfect opportunity to try the famous zigzag hill with him. And there, we quickly learn that you have to be patient and operate the right pedal gently.

It takes some smart thinking to find the point where you can find the most traction, and it’s fun, especially when these two engines are working with a tight differential. The Wilwood brakes are a joy (there’s no regen yet, but we prefer to do that by feel anyway), the steering is touchy and precise, and the coilover suspension gives you good control and enough comfort for the type of driving you’ll be doing with it.

What can the electric Datsun 240Z be used for?

But what kind of vehicle is it? It’s not refined enough for long journeys, plus there’s no fast charging (that would have added too much weight and complexity; 7 kW is the maximum) and the range is limited to about 210 kilometres. But hey, a nice little drive through the countryside on a summer’s day – there’s a lot to like about this car.

Here’s how we imagine it: parking on a hill, taking the picnic basket out of the trunk and thinking how much cooler and less “look at me” a 240Z is than an E-Type. And as a bonus, taking great pleasure in seeing the buttercups not wilt as you drive past…