Electric Dreams: iconic cars electrified

Dave Budge was on a road trip in outback Australia – complete with swags, spare wheels, and mandatory supplies – when he realised, he didn’t quite have everything he needed.

“We were in a Land Rover Defender – the Flinders Ranges I think – and, you know, I'm burning 300 litres of diesel to get somewhere where there's pure clean air and a beautiful pristine environment – the irony,” Budge explained to carsales.

“Travelling around Australia [though], what choice do you have other than to use a private vehicle and be burning fossil fuels?” he said.

“I wished I could have an electric four-wheel drive.”

That simple moment five years ago led to the formation of today’s aptly named Jaunt – where some of the most iconic cars of all time are future-proofed with an electric powertrain.

“In basic terms, we take internal combustion cars, and we turn them electric – usually, what we define as kind of iconic cars,” Budge said.

Budge’s background includes emerging technology including time in the automotive industry, seeing him uniquely placed to give new life to classic cars.

“I guess, in a way, we’re sort of standing on the shoulders of these icons of the automotive world – we can take a picture of a Land Rover, Photoshop out an exhaust pipe, write ‘electric’ above it and everyone gets what we're doing.”

The first build took several COVID-interrupted years, a learning and development process as Jaunt grew from a chat between Dave and a colleague to having 16 staff.

Now, that’s shortened to weeks or months depending on the condition of the vehicle to begin with – and any changes wanted or needed beyond the electric powertrain.

Build number one hit the spot and gave the team a clear picture of the opportunity – from customer interest to economic viability – in front of them.

Jaunt will now custom build you a Land Rover – it has also developed packages for older Minis and Porsche 911s – with a full warranty, road-registered and turn-key driveway.

Buyers typically supply a donor vehicle, but Jaunt will also find you a car should you need it.

The donor car’s starting condition – and spec – determines both timeframe and cost, the latter typically around $150K.

Older cars are an opportunity to upgrade, update and renew interiors, and replace worn-out suspension or other components – things you’d change regardless of what’s under the bonnet as part of a typical restoration.

“If it's a really old one, we know we're rebuilding the axles, and we're changing diff ratios and those kinds of things,” said Budge.

“Car restoration is expensive and there's no getting around that – labour is expensive – so it's cheaper to start with a newer car, even though obviously, the donor car is more expensive.

You can buy a ’60s Land Rover for five grand, but you're going to get out of the whole process cheaper starting with a 50 grand newer model."

You can choose between 55kWh, 82kWh and 110kWh battery packs made in Bristol, UK by Fellten – who Jaunt has a partnership with – capable of 70kW to 120kW charging rates and neatly packaged in a carbon fibre box.

Jaunt will pair the battery with an electric motor – a 210kW unit for a Series 2 or 3 Land Rover, with later coil-sprung models (March 1983 onwards) able to cope with more power given 350kW versions.

Electric range – again vehicle specific – is up to 450km with the 110kW battery pack even with the classic, non-aerodynamic Range Rover body.

Carefully chosen disc brake/ABS, power steering – electric or hydraulic – auxiliary wiring looms as well as air-conditioning is part of the package (depending on the model), with other upgrades available to the buyer.

It’s clear these are not simply bolt-in electric motors and battery packs where the buyer must figure out the rest of the car to get it running; the end product is a complete, thoroughly researched, user-friendly package.

“That means if you bring a roadworthy car to our workshop, it can roll out with everything – every gauge, every switch, it's every lever – all the work is done."

Jaunt will even negotiate the different regulations across Australian states and territories for engineering and roadworthiness certificates.

As well as safety and reliability, there’s also a conscious effort to ensure an engaging driving experience.

Attention has been paid to throttle response, steering feedback, suspension, and brake-pedal feel, while items such as cruise control have been thoroughly developed to be easy-to-use in cars that significantly pre-date the tech.

It's clear this is not a backyard battery-pack drive-thru operation – iconic looks meet thoroughly engineered EV tech yet with drivability and character.

That means the electric package Jaunt has developed for the Mini, for instance, is tailored to its size and weight – and its legendary handling – as is the set-up designed for the Porsche 911.

“It was always about building high-quality systems at some sort of scale, not just one-offs so that we can really optimise and do the work that makes these as safe and reliable as possible to get the best performance rather than just trying to make wheels spin,” Budge said.

“We're wanting to apply – where it's viable for us as a small business – the same sort of thoroughness in testing and safety as you would have if you were building a new vehicle."

That includes testing to the EU ‘R100’ standard – as Budge explains the current Australian regulations were written back in 2011 well before the concept of classic electric cars seemed viable.

“We want to make sure every part we put in is as good as we can make it and that means up to the expectations that people have a buying a new car in 2024.”

That user-friendliness has drawn buyers who may not have considered a Land Rover or classic car simply through fear of constant repairs. While tinkering’s heaven for some, it’s hell for others.

“It opens the idea of classic cars to a whole new audience beyond the very passionate, actually quite small bubble of really determined automotive enthusiasts who know how to work on a car enough to consider owning.”

“The majority of our customers by far are people who've never owned a classic car but have always been admirers of them. But suddenly now they can own one.”

While it’s Land Rovers and Minis for now, Jaunt is looking more broadly – Budge would love to convert local cars but says it’s not about destroying collectable cars but rescuing them.

He recounted when he was told he’d ruined a Volkswagen Kombi by electrifying it.

“What is the point of a Kombi?” He asked.
?
“This particular example was literally a goat shed – it had goats living in it. Now it’s rebuilt, it’s on the road, it’s being used every day by multiple generations who would not have been driving it and it’s making great memories. What more could you want?”

The concept also won’t necessarily decline if EVs become as prolific as expected over the next decade or so.

“There's always a market for unique and interesting vehicles and electric conversion opens up an exponentially bigger vintage/classic car market to everyday people.”

“Cars are so emotive and related to your personality - there’s still a big, emotional fashionable element to them.”

That will see the Jaunt go beyond its current offerings and spread its classic wings using its tried and proven looms, sub-assemblies, and EV tech.

“We've got a 1958 Corvette that we're working on, and that really is going to set the standard for our front engine, rear-wheel drive platform.

“I would love for us to be doing a GTS Monaro – just go straight to the pointy end. It's a classic Australian muscle and would show what we can do.”

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

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