EV specialists form sacrilegious 911 Blackbird
IF YOU were lucky enough to attend the 2023 Monterey Car Week you may have seen the latest Sacrilege Motors EV-converted Porsche 911 built in conjunction with UK automotive electric powertrain specialist Fellten.
Sacrilege Motors, based in the US, has made a name for itself replacing the iconic petrol boxer six-cylinder out of Porsche 911s with a silent electric traction motor. The owners Bobby Singh and Phil Wagenstein both own air-cooled, ICE-powered Porsche 911 daily drivers and say their conversions “add an electric power option to the existing quiver of analogue Porsche 911 fun”.
The heart transplant results in a vehicle as fast or faster than the donor car and with the same driving dynamics and feel winning over enthusiasts wishing to convert such rarities as the decades old Porsche 911 at Monterey.
According to its website, Sacrilege Motors, is “a bespoke (custom) performance, restoration and electric-conversion studio focusing on Porsches” and has just announced an ongoing partnership with Fellten.
Based in Bristol, UK, and formed through a merger of Australian company Jaunt Motors, also an EV conversion specialist and Zero EV, Fellten describes itself as “the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of systems used in converting classic cars into electric vehicles”.
It could be a marriage made in EV heaven as underlining Fellten’s claims is the fact that its state-of-the-art electric powertrains have been recognized for their outstanding performance and reliability by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), resulting in the firm achieving “Tier 1” supplier status.
Fellten has a track record of engineering EV-conversion systems for a variety of classic brands and models including: Mini, Land Rover Series and Defender but started with the Porsche 911. It has even worked with film studios to convert featured motion-picture cars to all-electric power.
It is the only EV powertrain supplier approved by BMW for the Classic Mini Recharged project.
Sacrilege Motors says it is also working with Fellten on cutting-edge electric powertrain development projects that will be exclusive to Sacrilege Motors but details remain secret at the moment.
At Monterey, the pair displayed an example of a restored, performance-tuned and EV-converted Porsche 911 America Roadster… one of only 250 built.
The car was dubbed “Blackbird” by its owner in honour of the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird aircraft.
“With our Porsche 911 commissions, we’ve set very demanding performance and reliability targets,” said Mr Singh.
“Fellten hits those targets completely. They build their system like an OEM would, in the way it’s engineered, designed and blueprinted that allows us to focus on the driving dynamics and on maintaining the soul of these classic Porsche 911s.”
Sacrilege Motors CEO, Phil Wagenstein, shared Mr Singh’s enthusiasm for the new model, saying the classic feel of the 911’s driving experience was important to retain.
“Staying true to the spirit of the original 911 is paramount for us and Fellten will help us preserve the classic feel of the Porsches we restore,” he said.
“They are setting the standard for the industry and will be an important technical partner in the future development of Sacrilege Motors conversion projects.”
From Fellten’s side, CEO Chris Hazell said weight distribution characteristics are part of what made the 911 so desirable to enthusiasts, and that this was something the company worked hard to replicate in the modification of the model to electric power.
“With our Porsche 911 powertrain system, we were very particular about keeping the weight distribution the same,” he said.
“Otherwise you’re changing the handling characteristics, and that’s not a Porsche. At Sacrilege Motors, they have a passion and a love of the car, and they know Porsche 911s so well.
“They do what they do best, restoring and modifying a legend, and we do what we do best, developing the best power system—and when you put the two together, it’s magical.”
