Steve McQueen 910 Porsche Is Now An Electric Kreisel EVEX 910e
Gasp! Shock! Horror! A 1960s race hero dropped its gasoline engine and swapped it for an electric motor. And so goes Steve McQueen’s Porsche 910, one of only 35 ever made and featured in the 1971 film Le Mans, which is now an electric vehicle ready to be sold.
Does The Electric Drivetrain Hold Anything Sacred?
Tongue in cheek, it is with amusement that I saw Steve McQueen’s 910 Le Mans racer leaving behind its gasoline engine for an electric drivetrain. I’ve already seen the owner of his original Mercedes 300SL convert this timeless beauty to electricity, but a car with that much history converted to electricity will raise a few eyebrows, if not indignation. This Porsche 910 has a considerable historic significance.
This Porsche 910 has a lot of history. It began its life as a Porsche 906-10 meant to test brakes and drivetrain. Lighter and shorter than the eye-catching 906, it became a very competitive racer on shorter and tighter circuits against the heavier and more powerful GT40 and Ferrari 512 Prototypes. It also finished sixth in the 1967 World Sportscar overall Championship and this chassis 006 competed in the 1967 Targa Florio Race. It continued racing with Christian Poirot in 1968 in the 24 Hours of LeMans and won the 2.0 Liter Prototype Class in 1969, finishing ninth overall that year. The car was later sold and converted to a Spyder for use in German hill climb competition. However, the car is probably best known as Steve McQueen’s legendary racer in the movie ‘LeMans.’ In other words, this isn’t a kit car or an obscure garage queen. This is the real McCoy.
Secretly, in my fantasy world, I wish I had a perfect replica of a 1969 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, a TZ2, and a Lola T70, but electric. The fairly quiet whiz of an electric motor with such stunning and fluid lines lends itself to this perfect marriage. But I cringe when I hear classic music pieces butchered, to my ears, by modern musicians. Can anyone really do justice with these old cars?
Kreisel Brothers Put A Spell On The EVEX 910e
Apparently, the three Austrian Kreisel brothers from Kreisel Electric GmbH are trying just that. They plan to sell this original model 910 race car, now called the EVEX 910e for no less than 1 million euros, or $1.1 million. Kudos for the gusto!
In this electric iteration, the EVEX 910e has a 350-kilometer (218 miles) range and can sprint the 0 to 60 MPH in 2.5 seconds. It is fully licensed for public road use, too.
Pitching themselves as E-Mobility Maniacs, Johann, Markus, and Philipp are not just converting old cars to electricity, they are also tackling plug-in boats and airplanes. The Kreisel brothers teamed up with EVEX Fahrzeugbau GmbH, a German manufacturer best known for its classic automobile cars restoration in Dusseldorf, Germany in order to convert this car.
By now the Kriesel name should have rung a bell. Remember Arnold Schwarzenegger driving a Mercedes G 350 converted to electricity that fellow writer James Ayres wrote about early on? Yes, they are the same culprits. They plan to produce 2,000 electric powertrains and battery packs for the VDL Groep in the Netherlands, converting Mercedes Sprinter mini-buses.
And if by now you’ve fainted after gasping and crying foul, fear not, the Kreisel brothers are also selling the car’s assumed original transmission as well. Open your wallets, please.
Technically speaking, the original Porsche 910 had 162 kW, about 215 ~ 220 HP, and the EVEX 910e now puts out a respectable 360 kW, 480 HP using a 53 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Is Kreisel Competition to Tesla?
Although the Kreisel brothers seriously lag far behind in production number to Tesla, they did produce an electric conversion of the Porsche Panamera that raised a few eyebrows. 4WD, 360 kW electric motor, 300 km/h, 186 MPH, 280 miles range, 700 nm, 516 lb-ft torque, using 8,160 type 18650 battery cells… Now, where have I seen fairly similar numbers? Nonetheless, this 85 kWh are arranged in a similar Voltec configuration and is a one-off.
I’d be interested in hearing what car collectors have to say about such an illustrious electric car conversion like that. These historic race cars have been through a lot. They’ve raced. They’ve been beaten up. They’ve been lovingly rebuilt and cherished from auction to auction. But an electric conversion of a Steve McQueen Porsche 910, the same one that appeared in the famous Le Mans movie will certainly draw a lot of attention.
My, how puny I feel converting my 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider! The Krisel EVEX 910e Porsche 910 is something we’ll hear about for a long time.
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