Electric Porsche 911 SC Targa is Actually Awesome
The idea of an electric Porsche 911 will put some enthusiasts on edge, but this conversion has been done both thoughtfully and tastefully.
This is not the first electric Porsche 911 conversion, but it could well be the best so far. We actually shuddered when we realized the Porsche they used is a 1979 SC Targa. Removing it’s air cooled heart and replacing it with an electric motor sounds like a sacrilege. In fact, it is sacrilege. But once the horror had subsided, the video reveals a deep level of attention paid to the car. And most importantly, they retained its drivability.
According to the man that built it, Richard Morgan of Electric Classic Cars, the car was running when it came to him but was in bad shape. Bad enough that they gave it a full restoration before its modification to electric power.
The car now has a 54kWh battery taken from a Tesla Roadster for power, and two motors providing the drive. Morgan claims that with the electric motor the cars 0-60mph time is quicker by 1 second. That’s enough to make a difference, but not enough to turn a drivers car into a complete animal. Helping to keep the car fun to drive there’s an unusual feature for an electric car. It still has a manual transmission. Because an electric car has all the torque available all the time, you can leave it one gear for driving around town. But if you wanted, you could go up and down the gears like a normal car. Driven sensibly it’ll do 200 miles on a single charge.
All in all, it looks like a fun car to drive. It would be weird not to hear the 3.0-liter flat six singing away behind, as well as having a linear power curve. Weirdest of all though, this 1979 SC Targa now has an actual trunk.
