The electric classic car that now drives like a 'pocket rocket'

There is an eerie quiet when "old bangers" are converted into electric vehicles.

The familiar rumble of a classic car chugging down the road is replaced by a soft whirr that can take a second to adjust to, the founder of non-profit Modern Classic Cars Foundation, David Dyer, said.

His team of apprentices has spent the past two years turning a 1971 Morris Mini into an EV as an exercise to skill up the next generation of mechanics.

"EV conversions to old cars are going to be something that becomes more and more popular over the years," Mr Dyer said.

"[They] are the future because we just don't know what's going to happen, whether petrol stays, whether it doesn't."

In a past life, the model was used as a family car and by NSW Police, and even won the 1966 Gallaher 500 in Bathurst.

Decades on, one Mini in Sydney's south-west has had a new lease of life, with the foundation saying it now has 295 horsepower and a power-to-weight ratio that rivals a Porsche's.

Its original engine, cabling and fuel tank were swapped out for a new charger, battery, electric motor and drivetrain.

"A converted old car is quite efficient: we're using an old body, we're not making a new steel car … as well as getting rid of some fossil fuel use," Mr Dyer said.

"It does bring it up to speed with modern cars."

'Way of the new world'

The Mini's original design was honoured through little details — a selector knob in the same spot as the gear stick, the charging port where the fuel cap was, and the battery charge state displayed under the fuel gauge.

Generally, a standard conversion using an existing kit can take a week, but if it "hasn't been done before", it can take months to get right, Mr Dyer said.

For a complete build, including paintwork, sound insulation, and leather interiors, the Mini conversion costs more than $200,000.

"This quality of build will always be stupid expensive just because of the massive amount of hours involved," Mr Dyer said.

A regular conversion on a working car sits closer to half that figure.

The Mini has had a power upgrade as part of the conversion. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)

The car is charged in the same spot as the former petrol cap. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)

The interior of the car has also been refurbished. (Supplied)

Another car of the same model won a race in 1966. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)

Nick Highfield is a first-year auto electrician who worked on the Mini as his first EV classic car conversion.

"Driving it around for the little car that it is, it feels like a pocket rocket,"

he said.

"You still have that old classic car look with a more modern-day drive and feel."

Mr Highfield said while education in the space was in the "early stages", he felt it was the "way of the new world".

Mr Dyer said that, despite the number of cars aging into "classic" or "vintage" status increasing, there had not been a great many people in the last sort of 20 years training in the automotive industry.

"Nearly all of the people who work in it are old, and they're giving up, they're retiring," he said.

"It was pretty obvious that it [EV conversions] was something we were going to have to do to ensure that the young people have a future in the industry."

'Start to look at different options'

While "any car can be converted", models built before 2000 are easier to retrofit and bridge the gap between nostalgia and performance.

Mr Dyer said he noticed customers bought "the car they wanted when they were 10 years old".

"They drive it and think, 'Oh, this is horrible — looks fantastic, but doesn't drive like a modern car'.

"They will come to us with their old car and a bit of a dream."

Mr Highfield said conversions offered choice in a growing market.

"Especially with all the new cars, they're all coming out as EVs, we don't really get much of an option of what sort of car we want.

"Whereas if we can do an EV conversion, you can have the car you want and turn that into an electric car."

Michael Day from the Australian Electric Vehicle Association agreed that EV conversions were becoming "more and more common" but still remained "niche".

"It kind of ebbs and flows, it depends on what's happening with petrol prices predominantly, and that changes the level of interest, then people start to look at different options," he said.

Mr Day said that in the past, if someone wanted an electric vehicle, "you had to build one," but nowadays conversions happen out of passion, not necessity.

"The [EV] cars we're getting from overseas are so good and priced really well, so a conversion is always going to be something that's special and a little bit harder to achieve," he said.

"It's a real balancing act at the moment between what you can buy … and what you can build, and then it tends to be a special vehicle, something that you love.

"There's nothing like building a project and successfully driving it down the road."

Posted Mon 8 Jun 2026 at 6:37am

Mon 8 Jun 2026 at 6:37am

, updated Mon 8 Jun 2026 at 7:03am

Mon 8 Jun 2026 at 7:03am