Electrogenic’s Seven Electric-Conversion Kits Preserve Chassis With Reversible Bolt-In Designs
An electric conversion becomes much harder when engineers cannot treat the original vehicle as raw material. Electrogenic’s seven vehicle-specific kits are designed around that constraint: motors, reduction gearboxes, battery enclosures and associated hardware use existing engine and transmission mounting points rather than requiring chassis cutting, drilling, welding or metal bending.
That bolt-in architecture covers Series Land Rovers, Land Rover Defenders, Jaguar E-Types, 1974-1994 Porsche 911s, the DeLorean DMC-12, Minis built from 1959 through 2000 and first-generation Mazda MX-5 Miatas. Electrogenic also offers a pared-down Defender package for agricultural work. Several additional applications are under development.
The practical benefit is preservation. Southern California installer Shinoo Mapleton said the engine, transmission and other removed components can be stored, allowing the conversion to be reversed later. Reversibility remains dependent on the vehicle’s condition and how the installation is executed, but avoiding permanent structural changes establishes the necessary foundation.
Packaging starts with the original load paths
Electrogenic scans the available spaces and original drivetrain, models the installation digitally and uses simulation to develop battery locations, cooling arrangements and cable routes. Right- and left-hand-drive versions are tested where applicable. Founder and CEO Steve Drummond, a mechanical engineer who began his career in nuclear power, said one model-specific package generally consumes about 500 engineering hours over at least six months.
The gearbox and enclosure work stays in-house, along with software, control electronics and many other electrical components. Motors, battery cells or packs and Combined Charging System equipment come from outside suppliers. This division puts much of the vehicle-specific engineering the parts governing fit, torque transfer, thermal packaging and driver interaction under Electrogenic’s control while relying on specialist suppliers for major electrification hardware.
The Jaguar E-Type illustrates why a universal conversion package would be inadequate. Its reduction gearbox had to accept input from a motor operating at up to 15,000 rpm, and Electrogenic spent nearly two and a half years refining that component through trial and error. The battery cradle attaches through existing mounts. In an evaluated 1974 E-Type, the converted powertrain produced 475 pound-feet of torque, versus 285 pound-feet cited for the original V12.
The Miata presented a different packaging problem. Its installation required a shorter transmission and a replacement torque stiffener that bolts into the car. These are not incidental brackets: they determine whether the electric drivetrain can fit without compromising the structural interfaces and handling behavior that define the original platform.
Legacy controls must communicate with a digital powertrain
Mechanical fit is only part of the conversion. Classic cars were built around analog instruments and conventional 12-volt electrical equipment, while an electric drivetrain generates digital operating data. Electrogenic developed a dashboard control unit that translates powertrain signals so the legacy instrument panel can continue to function.
That separation matters because an EV’s traction battery and low-voltage system perform different jobs. As NHTSA explains in its EV safety guidance, the high-voltage battery supplies propulsion energy, while the 12-volt system supports equipment such as lighting and instrumentation. A conversion therefore has to integrate the new propulsion controls without treating every original electrical function as expendable.
Weight placement is another constraint. Electrogenic says its DeLorean package retains the car’s overall weight and weight distribution. The motor, inverter, charger, cooling system and rear battery enclosure attach at the original engine mounts, while another battery pack occupies the former fuel-tank space. That arrangement preserves the front luggage compartment and demonstrates how using vacated powertrain volumes can limit changes to the rest of the vehicle.
North American charging exposed the integration risk
Supplier hardware does not eliminate validation work. Early Jaguar kits failed to work with North American fast-charging infrastructure because the region’s Combined Charging System protocol differed from the European implementation. The incompatibility emerged despite supplier assurances, according to Mapleton.
Resolving it took almost a year and required multiple visits to the United States by Electrogenic engineers. For American customers, that episode is more consequential than a peak torque figure: connectors, communication protocols and charging equipment must be validated in the market where the converted car will operate.
Electrogenic currently works with 13 installers worldwide, including four in the United States and one on Canada’s west coast. Those partners also must inspect each vehicle’s structure and address corrosion or other deficiencies before installation; restoration is not included in the conversion. U.S. businesses modifying used vehicles also retain obligations not to create safety-standard noncompliance, as reflected in a NHTSA interpretation addressing electric conversions.
Cost remains a substantial boundary. One owner described the $110,000 kit-and-installation bill for his 1995 Defender as a substantial investment for something you don’t need. Electrogenic’s approach does not make classic-car electrification simple or inexpensive. It instead moves the difficult work into repeatable vehicle-specific hardware, software and validation while leaving the chassis intact enough for the original powertrain to have a way back in.
By Robert McKinney — Editor-in-Chief for AMI’s automotive and mobility coverage, with a mechanical engineering background and a decade reporting on powertrain systems, EV innovation, and global vehicle manufacturing.
