Zero Labs Reveals Universal EV Platform For Classic Car Conversions

After more than five years in extensive R&D, drawing from some of the most experienced players in the industry — and building some wild “proof of concept” vehicles along the way! — Zero Labs has unveiled its most disruptive product yet. It’s not a car or a conversion, in itself. Instead, it’s a fully realized electric vehicle platform. A “skateboard,” if you will, that will enable just about anyone to turn the classic car, truck, or SUV of their dreams into a thoroughly modern, thoroughly electric vehicle.  What’s more, Zero’s new skateboard absolutely looks the business.

Each of Zero Labs’ electric vehicle platforms is fully self-contained, with batteries integrated into the “floor” of the frame, and a fully independent double-wishbone suspension system at each corner. Bumps in the road are smoothed out with airbag shock-absorbers that can be tuned for stiffness or comfort, or just emptied out altogether to positively slam your classic EV right to the ground. (It’s all about that stance, baby!) Electric motors front and/or rear provide forward motion while modern Brembo brakes ensure that the car will have as much in the way of stopping power as it does going power.

That’s important, too. As I wrote of Zero’s electric Ford Bronco a while back, those electric motors “deliver more than 600 HP and jaw-dropping levels of torque off the line, which is not only a lot more than the ‘official’ 2021 Ford Bronco, but nearly 500% more power than the classic 1966 original.”

You need the brakes, in other words. Bet.

You also probably need someone who’s handy with a socket set to help you do the work of actually swapping your classic car’s body onto Zero Labs’ platform. The good news here is that Zero Labs has you covered and each purchased platform includes the 30-day “seamless transformation” conversion by Zero Labs itself.  That’s a far cry from EV West’s “figure it out” small-block Tesla crate motor option. And, as Motor Trend‘s Connor Golden writes, “it seems like this will be one of the more trouble-free ways to turn your old gas guzzler into an electron huffer.”

The bad news, of course, is that expert technicians with specialized knowledge don’t come cheap. So, if you have to ask …

Zero Labs’ website currently shows a number of vehicles that it has deemed “suitable” for conversion, from the classic ’66 Bronco discussed (and shown) here to classic Land Rover models, 1960s-era Mustangs, and air-cooled-era Porsche 911s.  None of those are of any particular interest to me, but something along the lines of an electric GMC Syclone would do me just fine.

What about you guys? If money was no object, what classic would you save from the crusher? Would you only save one, or would you skip saving any of them at all, you wasteful consumer, you? Let us know what you think of Zero’s latest classic car savior in the comments section, below.

Zero Labs | EV Platform “Skateboard”

Source | Images:  Zero Labs Automotive, via Motor Trend.