13 Years On, Zelectric Is Still Converting the World to Electricity
Zelectric has been converting VW Beetles and Porsche 911s and 912s for 13 years in sunny San Diego.
I got to drive their Irish Green 1968 912 for a bit and loved it.
Prices start at $78,000 for a Beetle conversion, minus the cost of the Beetle; the 912 I drove was $195,000 all-in. Two-year waiting list abides.
The Porsche 912 EV from Zelectric in La Jolla, California, that I got to drive was just fantastic. That's the gist of this whole story. They can build one for you, if you can wait two years. They also have some other finished cars that maybe you'd like to buy right now.
All that's clear. The rest, it's all still being sorted out. Even how to build these cars is still being fine tuned.
'No one has it figured out,' said Zelectric's co-founder David Benardo, as he rattled off a list of competitors and their parts sources. Theoretically, you can buy everything you need online, but putting it together and making it work without burning down your garage still requires some know-how and creativity.
You can go to an authorized Chevy dealer and get an eCrate electric motor with the battery and all the necessary parts and have an authorized shop install it in your electric car conversion right now, if you can reach the three authorized Lingenfelter shops in the upper Midwest.
You can also order a Ford Performance Parts Eluminator Mach-E electric crate motor and basically do it yourself, hoping and praying you don't electrocute yourself in the process. Ford has sold a few hundred of them. Chevy, too.
But even experienced shops like Zelectric are still figuring out this electric vehicle conversion business. We're all still in the early days of independent EV conversions. But Zelectric has done a good job on this Irish Green 912.
Benardo and wife Bonnie Rodgers first got the idea to convert their ragtop VW Beetle to electricity in 2006. They sat on the idea for six years. Then in 2012, they got a team together. Two and a half years later, they had completed the electric conversion of their perfectly good electric Beetle. They kept going from there.
Since that first Beetle, Zelectric has made more than 70 conversions of Volkswagen Beetles, Things, and Karman Ghias, as well as a selection of older Porsche 911s and 912s. And each product has been better than the last.
They buy drivetrain parts from suppliers that guarantee the parts, then they assemble them into converted pure electrics.
The 912 I drove had a Tesla Model S rear motor, a battery pack from a Chrysler Pacifica, and a controller from EV-Controls, because those were the components that worked best for that particular car.
The problem, if there is a problem, is that Zelectric keeps wanting to branch out into new models instead of picking one model and perfecting the conversion process for it.
With components sourced from EV West, EV-Controls, and other suppliers, much work has to be done to make each set of components hum reliably and forever as Zelectric keeps playing around with new car models.
Why not pick just one and focus on that? I suggested the 901 911s from 1963 to 1973. Why not perfect that kit and make lots of money cranking those out?
There's no good answer. A lot of this is Benardo doing what he wants to do. Squirrel!
And what he's done with the 912 I drove was just about perfect. From the outside—and even from the inside—you can't tell it's electric. The only real difference inside is the single screen that operates the 'transmission:' forward, neutral, reverse, all appear as tabs on the touchscreen. Start the car, hit D for Drive, and off you go.
The car is quiet, with no gear whine. It's powered by a 400-kW (536-hp) Tesla Model S drive unit from the rear of a Tesla Model S. The battery pack is an LG Chem 32-kWh pack from a Chrysler Pacifica because that works best in a 912. Range is 120-145 miles depending on how you drive. Charging comes from dual 5-kW chargers at Level 1 or Level 2.
The braking and suspension systems are from a 1977 RS upgraded by Wayne Baker Racing. It rolls on 195/65R-15 Michelins in front and 205/65R-15 rears wrapped around Fifteen52 Magnus Walker Outlaw wheels. With one battery pack in the front trunk, weight distribution is improved to 42/58 front/rear.
The car feels light. Benardo says it weighs 2,505 pounds. That's 4.67 pounds per hp, which is close to supercar territory. There's no traction control, stability control, or ABS, so be careful how quickly you step on the accelerator.
'You have to do all the work,' he said as we rolled off into eastern San Diego county.
But it's not work, it's fun! The acceleration is just short of what would scare you, but more than you're likely to need. I got to go around a couple of corners and it felt flat, no roll to speak of. The rear end never stepped out like older 911s are famous for. The steering was very light; I might have wanted just a little more feel through the wheel but this was a highly enjoyable car. The regenerative braking is adjustable, and this one was cranked up just the way I prefer.
It just so happened I drove an Everatti 911 conversion a month or two before this one. The Everatti is a 1991 Porsche 964 911 making 500 hp. It's sporting the company's 964 carbon-widebody RSR homage. It came with a 62-kWh battery, good for 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds in this car. It weighed 3,230 pounds in this specification, which compares favorably to the 3,241 pounds for a 964.
The Everatti weighs more and has approximately the same performance but wrapped in a carbon-fiber body. You can spend over a half million dollars on an Everatti. The Zelectric 912 is just $195,000.
Which brings us to price. A Zelectric conversion typically starts at around $78,000 for a Beetle or Karmann Ghia; a Microbus conversion starts at $85,000; a Tesla-powered Porsche 911/912 can cost significantly more, reaching upwards of $98,000 for the conversion alone. Prices vary depending on what you want done. And everything takes two years.
Which would I prefer? I might be completely happy driving off with the 912. Call Zelectric and get yourself on the waiting list.
Are you going to buy one? Let us know below.
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Ask The Man Who Owns One Mark Wanzel (above, with fiancé, Julie Ward) is a photographer who shoots freelance and for The Barrie Examiner in Ontario, Canada. Why I like it: 'Without even discussing its innovations, for me, the Mark I CRX will always be great because of its light weight and sporty feel, useable practicality, and boy-racer looks. Few cars in history deliver like the CRX, and when you consider the Si, it becomes a full-package car. It's way too much fun for a road car.' Why It's Collectible: Most Mark I CRXs were driven hard and allowed to rust, and there won't be a modern sports car this light, efficient, and affordable again. Restoring/Maintaining: Engines are bulletproof if maintained. Most other parts are unavailable without a parts car. Replacement plastic front fenders and hood headers are available from China and European/Japanese-spec engines are available from Japan. Beware: You'll find examples that haven't rusted away only from California and Southern states, so watch for faded and damaged interior/exterior plastics. Shocks, struts, and boots went quickly and must be replaced regularly, now only with aftermarket parts. Timing belts must be replaced every 60,000 miles to avoid valve damage. Expect to pay: Concours-ready: $2450; solid driver: $1200; tired runner: $575 Join the club: CRX Owners Group, Club Si, Northern California CRX Club, Red Pepper Racing, Our Take Then: 'Honda's all-new Civic CRX 1.5 suggests the term 'Rollerskate GT.' Not only is it roomy and neatly done inside, it's a delight in motion. Running around town, blitzing a mountain road, or cruising cross-country, you have a responsive, well-balanced performance automobile under your command.'—Kevin Smith, MotorTrend, November 1983. Now: What the enthusiast world needs is a car this light and this much fun, one that delivers equal helpings of performance and efficiency. If only Honda had kept developing the car, like BMW with the Mini, instead of replacing it with the Dull Sol. My CRX I test-drove a white 1984 Honda CRX five-speed at a dealership in Brookfield, Wisconsin, figuring the payments on a $6600 car wouldn't be much more than what I spent on parts in an average month on my 1977 Triumph Spitfire. I didn't buy one until three years later, after leaving the Quad-City Times for the San Diego Business Journal. California dealers were still getting close to sticker on CRXs (and most other Hondas). Insurance rates were especially high on the Si for twentysomething single guys, so in September 1987, on the day after my 29th birthday, I bought a red DX five-speed with no A/C for, I think, $8125. I ran it up and down Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco whenever I could. I drove it fast and hard, was meticulous with service, got 33 mpg in the city and about 40 mpg highway, and moved to Washington, D.C., in it. In February 1994, a lawyer with a medical condition who shouldn't have been driving his 1981 Olds 98 passed out on a boulevard outside Georgetown, plowing into oncoming traffic and taking out my CRX at low, constant speed. I had only a sore wrist from clenching the wheel. I still miss that car.
