The road to ‘Electric’ is a one-way. Perhaps not absolutely so yet, but the idea of taking classic cars into the future by converting them, abandoned ones particularly, into electric vehicles is a fascinating one. But when it is a Ferrari in question, and that too the all-time favourite 308 GT, classic car aficionados are not likely to approve of the ‘blasphemous’ idea that easily. At least some of them might come around to bending tradition, impressed by almost twice the torque and speed of the original. And to those who would lament the departure of Ferrari’s sound, solace could come from the fact that there is no smoke without sound. And the future approaches, silently.
Read this CNN Supercharged story of Californian Eric Hutchison who retrieved a Ferrari 308 GT from the junkyard, half burnt and converted it into a much faster Ferrari 308 GTE. Shared exclusively on Drivemeonline.
The conversion was effected by Hutchison, of electric car conversion specialist Electric GT. “I really was dying to know how this 308 compared to a stock 308,” he tells CNN Supercharged. It took thousands of hours of toil, sweat and electricity to finally get the GT on track. Then comes gratification for Hutchison and his team as a stock 308 is pitted against the reborn model, in a timed environment driven by the same professional driver. Interesting footage evolves as professional driver is off the line, and the electric car leaves a 25-foot burn out as he was simply gripping for traction. The Ferrari responded and handled almost double the power it was originally built for. Now, that’s pedigree and great engineering! The one and a half mile is covered by the 308 GT in 1:26 while the ‘GTE’ does it 10 seconds quicker.
In 2016, Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne had commented that an electric Ferrari would be “obscene.” His argument is still voiced my many, many fans: What’s the point of a silent Ferrari when the aggressive sound of its engine is a crucial part of the driving experience? Marchionne has been swept forward by the electric wave ever since, and has announced that electrification will reach the shores sof Maranello’s firebrand by 2020. But Hutchinson isn’t waiting that long and as Electric GT could go about this business of conversion with missionary fervor, this is what this Apostle of electrification has to say about his deed: “”There’s always going to be the purists, and then there’s going to be the new wave of electric performance, and the one car that polarizes it more than anything is nothing but a Ferrari.”
How Eric, the creator of the world’s only electric Ferrari so far, describes the experience seems to suggest that the electric era in Ferrari is something to look forward to.
“You put your foot down on the pedal in this car, it elicits fear, it’s scary, it launches, it explodes and that there’s no noise and then you put your foot down and you hear your tires ripping. The adrenaline of getting in an electric car with this much power on a Ferrari frame is phenomenal. Indescribable.”
The CNN Supercharged story concludes where Drew Gill assumes ownership of the transformed Ferrari. When he paid USD 77,000 for the restored classic, the Californian had no clue that the stealth craft was actually driven by an electric motor! He was stumped but ‘even more amped’ at the discovery.
Gather the bits of drama in the story and watch the video of restoration and racing on CNN Supercharged. I will keep bringing you the best of them.
