Nowadays, it seems that all companies want us to leave combustion cars and focus entirely on acquiring new electric cars. However, what if there was a different solution, which allowed to convert the former into the latter? Someone is already working on it.
Converting combustion cars to electric
Arc Motor Company, a Canadian green-tech startup, aims to turn classic cars, such as the 1974 Ford Bronco, into electric vehicles (EVs) using Tesla’s recycled batteries. The founder, Sloane Paul, has more than 15 years of experience in technology and engineering companies, such as Microsoft and Dyson. According to her, electrification of a car not only improves its performance, but also reduces carbon emissions and the amount of toxic waste.
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According to reports, Arc Motor Company has just completed the first conversion of a 1974 Ford Bronco to an electric vehicle, using Tesla batteries. After the mock-up, the new vehicle now has two electric motors that double the power and torque, compared to its previous specifications. The Bronco now has 260 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of torque, nearly doubling the power of the original.
To make the conversion, Arc mainly uses powertrain components sourced from recycled or reclaimed Tesla Model S units. Tom Chep, Arc’s chief operating officer and engineer, revealed that the company sources used battery modules from a scrapyard specializing in the recovery of Tesla battery components. With 15 of the 16 original battery modules of the Model S, the 75 kWh battery provides a range of approximately 320 km.
It should be emphasized that although the autonomy is lower compared to other new electric ones, Arc emphasizes that it is enough for daily trips. In this way, users can continue to use their favorite vehicle, without having to use gasoline.
According to Electrek, or more prominently is that the conversion technology is transferable to other classic cars, and Arc plans to explore additional projects. The initial cost of the company’s conversions is $75,000 USD, although they hope to reduce prices as the costs of parts and batteries come down in the future. The conversion process takes 2 to 3 months, to which we must add an additional time for shipping and obtaining parts.
If you are interested, you can read more about the project at this link.
