There’s a moment in every classic car owner’s life when romance collides with reality. It usually happens somewhere between turning the key for the fourth time and the sound of nothing but a tired solenoid clicking in protest.
Yes, we love classic cars. We love the shape, the soul, the nostalgia. But let’s not pretend they’re easy to live with. They leak. They stall. They wheeze in the cold like a pensioner climbing stairs. And for every minute they spend on the road, they seem to demand three in the garage with someone swearing gently beneath them.
So, what if you could keep the look, the feel, the heritage—but swap the rattly bits for an electric powertrain? That’s the question Everrati is asking. And depending on your stance, it’s either sacrilege or salvation.
“Let’s be honest, most people love classic cars from a distance,” says Justin Lunny, Everrati’s CEO. “They’re gorgeous, but the second you mention carburetors, oil leaks or starting them with a hope and a prayer, the love disappears.”
You can’t really argue with that. For every brave soul who maintains a vintage Porsche with a tool roll and some mild anxiety, there are ten more who’d happily take one home if it didn’t require a degree in mechanical sympathy. Everrati’s proposition is simple: remove the bits that cause stress—namely the engine, the emissions, and the unpredictability—and keep everything that turns heads.
“We’re taking away that fear of the unknown with older vehicles,” Lunny adds. “Strip out the noise, the fumes, the drama and suddenly, that car you’ve always dreamed of becomes something you can actually live with.”
Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? A Series IIA Land Rover that starts every time. A 911 that won’t mark its territory with a pool of oil. And better still, no guilt every time you fire it up in the city. In theory, it’s the best of both worlds.
But that’s where the rubber meets the road for the purists.
Because, while a silent, reliable, zero-emission classic might appeal to your neighbour Karen who drives a Tesla and complains about lawnmowers being too loud, there’s something undeniably missing when you replace a symphony of gears, pistons, and chaos with the faint whir of electricity.
Part of the joy of old cars is their imperfection. The way they chatter at idle. The manual choke. The ever-so-slight sense that you’re driving something alive and possibly resentful. Strip that away, and what’s left? A rolling sculpture? A very stylish iPad with wheels?
It’s a valid concern. And one that Everrati seems acutely aware of. Their mission isn’t to erase the past—it’s to extend it. To take icons of the road and make them viable for another 50 years. Not everyone can—or should—sign up for a lifetime of tuning carburetors and coaxing seized brakes back to life.
And let’s not forget: we’ve been here before.
A hundred years ago, people were probably saying similar things about the combustion engine replacing horses. “But the sound of hooves! The bond with the animal! The smell of manure in the morning!” And yet here we are. The world moved on. Slowly, but inevitably.
EVs aren’t here to wipe out the internal combustion engine overnight. Just like hybrids were once rare and are now annoyingly common, electrified classics may start as a curiosity—and end up the standard for vintage motoring. Not because they’re better in every way. But because they make ownership practical again.
In the end, what’s the point of a beautiful car that no one can drive?
Maybe the question isn’t “Would you buy a classic car if it ran on electricity?”
Maybe it’s “Would you rather see it driven—or forgotten?”
Because while petrol still courses through our veins, it’s hard to ignore that the future’s humming quietly behind us—and it’s gaining. Fast.
