Sustainable electric conversion?
08/28/2025
The idea of equipping old cars with an electric drive doesn't seem to be off the table just yet. We recently received a press release from Electrogenic, which has just electrified the Aston Martin DB6 of British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr.
We were somewhat surprised by the following sentence in the press release:
"Now, thanks to Electrogenic's EV conversion, this British icon is primed for many decades of sustainable grand touring."
Electrogenic therefore claims that the electrified DB6 is primed for many decades of grand touring. Certain doubts can certainly be expressed here. It is unclear, for example, whether the software can still be adapted in 20 or 30 years' time, whether replacement batteries will be available in the right size and whether spare parts for the drivetrain will still be on the market.
Of course, even with a "normal" DB6, it may be difficult to find spare parts for technology and bodywork in 2050. In an emergency, however, everything can be rebuilt using manual methods. This may be impossible with software and batteries. This raises the question of future viability ...
After all, the Electrogenic people handled the original material with care so that, according to their own statements, a rebuild would be possible without any problems. The cockpit even looks completely standard. Incidentally, the car will be presented at the Salon Privé Concours at Blenheim Palace.
The electrified DB6 is said to accelerate almost silently from 0 to 60 miles per hour in around 6.5 seconds thanks to over 200 hp and has a range of over 240 km. The batteries are housed in the engine compartment and at the rear instead of the tank. Whether the Aston has lost its soul in the conversion is probably a completely different question. And whether the conversion makes any ecological sense at all in view of the presumably homeopathic mileage can also be doubted.
Incidentally, Electrogenic also offers standard kits ("drop in") for the Land Rover, classic Porsche 911, Jaguar E-Type and DeLorean DMC-12 in addition to vehicle-specific solutions.
