This electric Jaguar E-Type is not a classic car
FIVA, the international federation of historic vehicles, has declared that converting Classic Cars to EVs means they are no longer Classic Cars.
There have long been arguments about RestoMods of Classic Cars, with hardcore classic lovers declaring such tampering with classic cars means they are no longer classics as all, and it’s certainly true there is currently a real vogue for ‘original patina’ in classic cars too, rather than a restoration to ‘as new’.
Whichever side of that argument you’re on, there’s now another problem for you to mull over: is giving a Classic Car an electric powertrain destroying a classic, or is it simply making it usable for the 21st century?
It’s a growing issue, with many classic car specialists now offering to give your classic an EV powertrain – from an electric Morris Minor to an electric Rolls-Royce Phantom V – and even mainstream makers like Aston Martin and Jaguar offering an electric DB6 and electric E-Type conversions.
Now, to add some clarity (or confusion), FIVA (the International Federation of Historic Vehicles) has declared that converting a classic to run as an EV means it is no longer a classic car, and that “vehicles so converted cease to be historic vehicles, unless they are subject only to ‘in period’ changes“. Which is clear enough.
FIVA do go on to say that if anyone is daft enough to give a classic an EV powertrain then they should keep everything that’s removed so it can, once a ‘proper’ classic car lover comes along, be restored once again to a real classic car.
Are FIVA right, or is giving a classic car an electric powertrain no different to fitting electricity and heating in an Elizabethan Manor House?
M. Geller says
Feels right. Once converted, not heritage.