While European automotive design has always been at the forefront of style, luxury, and horsepower, the emergence of emissions limits and restrictions on internal combustion vehicles in many large cities has made electric vehicle technology more than just a trend or option.
Feeding on this need to provide electric options is Voitures Extravert – a Dutch company that’s retrofitting older Porsche 911s with electric powertrains. Their 911 Quintessenza comes in two models. The SE is styled after the 1960s models, while the TE borrows its look from 1980s vehicle types.
In both cases, Voitures targets older 911s that would be too expensive to fully restore. However, once the vintage V-6 (Correction: This should read a flat six cylinder engine) is swapped out for a 58-kilowatt-hour power pack, the Quintessenzas can deliver a 250-mile range, 0-60 time under six seconds, a top speed of 124 mph, and over 670 foot-pounds of torque.
While none of these specs are mind-blowing, they’re not bad considering the era in which the cars were originally made. And there’s also a great deal of extra weight that comes from batteries that have been strategically placed throughout the vehicle to provide an even distribution of weight from front to rear. This would be unique to a Porsche with its infamous rear-mounted engines.
Upgraded brakes and adjustable dampers, as well as power steering and air conditioning, are also part of the retrofit. Additionally, the company is hoping to develop a fast-charging option that will provide 61 miles of range after a 15-minute charge.
Last year the company produced only a handful of vehicles but hopes to build nearly 40 in 2019. A Voitures Extravert electric 911 runs about $337,000, plus the cost of the original vehicle, which the company will provide.