The last time you heard a silent, vintage Volkswagen Beetle, it was likely because said vehicle was out of fuel by the roadside.
On a recent trip to San Diego, we learned that life exists for the classic Beetle, although the news is indeed quiet.
This is the Zelectricbug, the brainchild of California native David Benardo, who dared to replace the Beetle's iconic rear engine with a battery pack—and thereby turn the Beetle into an electric vehicle. His vision was hardly run-of-the-mill, however, requiring the insight and knowhow to turn an antique into a vision of the future.
"You're driving around with a $10,000 battery pack that allows us to move this little car about 100 miles," Benardo said. He believes that the Beetle is a natural vessel for EV conversion, given its light weight and relative balance. Clients have inquired, but Benardo isn't interested in converting, say, a classic Cadillac to an EV—despite that model's iconic status—because its weight presents bigger challenges.
"To move a Cadillac, which is heavier," he said, "your range might go down to [maybe] 70 or 80 miles."
Instead, his team in San Marcos, Calif., 30 miles north of downtown San Diego, is working on Volkswagen products from the '60s, such as the Beetle, a VW Bus, and a Thing. Using the stock manual transmission from those models, and as many original parts as possible, Benardo supplants the internal combustion engine with batteries and a motor. He emphasizes that the end product is as American as possible, noting that the motor is made in Long Beach, Calif., while he sources the batteries from China.
The end result? The quietest, quickest Beetle you've ever experienced. With a range of about 80 miles, and a top speed of over 100 mph, the only noise you hear—besides the electric whooshing endemic to this sort of vehicle—comes from the sunroof.
Best of all, you can buy it, for about 35 grand and the cost of a donor vehicle.
Want to see our first drive of the Zelectricbug? See the whole thing, and an interview with Benardo, below:
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