Please point me to Electrification Conversion information and discussion.

[DaveO]

Can anyone point me to forums or classic car magazines which discuss what can be done once the emissions regulations are introduced to upgrade the internal combustion engine. My understanding is the new regs will be introduced early in the New Year? I have a superb condition XKR which I presume will need a battery powered electrification conversion, or am I missing something ? I certainly don't fancy having to trailer the car to off-road events just to squeeze a tiny amount of usage when our English weather permits. I haven't noticed any coverage of this subject in the Jaguar Enthusiast magazine or in this forum but perhaps I have been blind? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

[steve_m]

2030 for new cars as I understand it.
I wouldn't worry about converting your car just yet but be prepared to spend a huge amount of money if you go down that route.

https://www.retroelectrics.co.uk/conversions

https://www.joinbonnet.com/post/ev-conversion-law-uk

Wonderful thing this clean, green energy; wonder where it comes from.

[DaveO]

Thank you for the links steve_m. I imagine that battery weight could weigh very heavily indeed upon the broad stated conversion cost estimates, even without uprating brakes to cope with additional battery weight loading. Its probably unlikely that lead/acid batteries would be the way to go. I can visualise DVLC getting heavily involved in safety facets and particularly DIY conversions and botched workmanship.

[steve_m]

The battery weight is an issue but things have moved on since the early days.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=durac ... AlndKQSs6Q

[Marineng]

Hi Dave - there are some highly detailled U-Tube videos covering the subject. The company 'Electric Classic Cars' have also been making TV shows about their conversions, for a few years now. Other company's are now joining the effort as the market grows and the technology improves. All the conversions that I have seen on 'Quest' and the Discovery Channel have quite a restriction on the size of the battery that will fit into the space available within any car that has not been designed as a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). This of course will also have an effect on the range of the car.

Electrifying a classic car, does required some thinking about and considerable modification if a good 50:50 weight distribution is to be avhieved. Regerative braking will naturally give very strong braking ability but as you say the whole system will need to be thought through carefully. I am running the Jaguar I-Pace (you may have read one or two of my features in the magazine under the SUV section) and there is quite a lot to think about when running a BEV and taking over as co-ordinator of the SUV section, I hope to help members understand more about the move over to electric.

I have always been passionate about cars and motorbikes and enjoyed immensley all the cars that I have owned including my previous Jaguars and the change to electric propulsion has been quite an eye opener for me. The I-Pace is an absolutly fantastic car - the best that I have ever had, which includes Mercs, BMWs and Jaguars but comparing Electric with IC propulsion, I don't helps as both have good and bad characteristics, they are different and need to be approached as such.

My understanding of the future is that although new IC engined cars will not be made, the ones currently on the road will not be banned. I think that the demand for Petrol and Diesel will start to reduce making filling up more of a challenge as the number petrol stations reduce but I think that is quite a way into the future. Check out the following on U-Tube - Tesla-powered Ferrari 308 GTS v Ferrari Testarossa: Drag Race arranged by CarWow - it shows what can be done with an elctrified classic and watch out in the SUV section of the magazine for more about my I-Pace. Thanks for sharing your very interesting thoughts.
Paul Russell

[DaveO]

Many thanks Paul for all the leads you are suggesting. I have kept the last 2 or 3 years of mags, don't always find time to read them cover to cover but will now hunt out your articles with great interest, also any uTube coverage. The current situation in sleepy Cornwall for new BEV purchases seems to be those who can afford to buy new tend to use them for short journeys only, which perhaps demonstrates a lack of confidence in battery power and/or sufficient charging units along their planned routes. These folk will for sure be quite well off with more than one vehicle in the family so the attitude is probably a mixture of liking new toys and being inquisitive. Helping the environment good for a boast but not the primary motivator.

Of course it is very early days to pass judgement but the major current restriction in rural Devon and Cornwall would be way insufficient charging facilities on most planned routes so the perceived range would be severely curtailed. I understand there is also a major credit crisis brewing in the new car sales financing industry which could result in a glut of one to two year old vehicles being surplus to demand in 2023. If true then new car sales are also likely to take a hit in the foreseeable future. All in all I feel the car market might well struggle in the short term not to mention the average family already struggling with inflation and interest rate rises.

I don't normally sound negative and perhaps the govnmnt will underwrite the financing of BEV's together with a massive investment in Battery
Fast Charging Stations. I am not typical but my XKR spends most of its life tucked up in my warm garage waiting for the rain to stop and the roads to clean up and it's owner to start feeling alive again. Annual mileage is typically c.2000.

[steve_m]

Back to the weight thing again:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/wei ... ab0f7130ee

[Marineng]

Interesting - in the u-tube test, indicated in my last post, it was stated that the Tesla powered Farerri 308 was actually less weight than the original car and running a few checks the Tesla model 3 comes in at 1845kg with the 2008 Jaguar S type (R) at 1852kg. I know that the I-Pace is 2133kg which is some 15% more but the I-Pace is faster than the S Type. The use of Aluminum on modern cars helps but generally you are correct the BEV is heavy with the current state of technology. This article by 'Road & Track magazine, however, gives the I-Pace a really good endorsement. If only Jaguar had not stopped development 4 years ago the I-Pace might be breaking 'range' records by now.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a4 ... v400-time/

The Lucid Air BEV it now achieving over 400 miles on a single charge and this has been achieved with cleaver engineering and not a step foward in technology. So it can be done with what is available now and in the Universities are many ideas for improving the battery technology. We shall see - do we live in interesting times or have the golden days left us behind?

[Marineng]

Hi Dave,

Just recieved notification that KWE have been working on an electrification project that includes XJS and XK8 Jaguars. I did not know about this but it might be worth following the progress. Please see https://www.kwecars.com/kwe-electric-co ... 8295b952ec
For more details.

Kind regards
Paul

[steve_m]

Nice idea but it will be soooooo expensive.