British professional Lunaz Design and style has developed what it claims is “the world’s rarest upcycled electrical motor vehicle”, by converting a 1961 Bentley S2 Continental – just one of only 4 ever built – to zero-emissions electric power.
Has it saved a typical for long run generations or dedicated automotive sacrilege? You decide. But the auto is becoming held up as a showcase of what Lunaz can do in mixing the worlds of useful classic vehicles and the most up-to-date EV technological innovation.
In its initial specification, the Bentley was driven by a 6.2-litre V8 petrol motor. Currently, now completely “restored and reimagined”, it’s geared up with Lunaz’s proprietary modular electrical powertrain.
It’s the most current chapter for a auto that has a colourful heritage. In the early 1960s, a compact range of luxury auto bodies have been nonetheless getting created by unbiased coachbuilders to the customer’s specification, on a “rolling chassis”. In accordance to the Bentley’s establish sheets, the to start with proprietor originally commissioned a four-doorway body from London coachbuilder James Younger but he evidently had a change of heart at the very last minute, considering that the motor vehicle has only ever existed in its current two-door type.
In 1967, the auto modified hands for the 1st time. About the decades that adopted, it went to many entrepreneurs as far afield as Germany and Japan just before returning to the United kingdom. The Bentley Continental was generally the rarest S2 variant – the Regular and Extended Wheelbase variations represented additional than 80 for each cent of the full number manufactured.
The Luna “upcycling” approach begins with a comprehensive inspection and evaluation to determine the chassis, powertrain, and suspension configurations. Engineers use 3D scanning to make in-depth computer aided style and design (CAD) designs as the foundation for renovation and reconstruction.
The auto overall body is stripped down to bare steel and returned to as-new ailment making use of regular coachbuilding and restoration procedures. Any external and interior supplies are repaired and recoated: nearly anything that simply cannot be reused, down to the nylon in the seatbelt wire, is recycled.
The inner combustion motor and its connected devices, lubricants and other fluids are taken off and reclaimed, replaced with Lunaz’s electrical powertrain. The modular design and style allows engineers to alter specific parts to replicate the car’s character and/or the owner’s individual preferences. The battery cells, inverters and motors are all first products built to Lunaz’s specification by European suppliers.
Brakes, steering, suspension and electrics are modernised “to deliver them into line with the dynamic anticipations of the consumer as perfectly as latest protection expectations”.
As specified by the customer, the Bentley S2 Continental is now outfitted with a cleanse-air 298kW powertrain. It can accelerate to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds. The suspension is a fully adjustable coil-spring method with a lever arm damper. This is configurable electronically from the cabin. Brakes, which also include a battery regeneration process, have been upgraded to six-piston calipers in the entrance and four-piston variants in the rear.
All seat leather-based is made from hides tanned employing in a natural way-fallen olive leaves, the carpet in the entrance and rear cabins and boot is made from 100 for each cent regenerated nylon fibre and incorporates a backing produced from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles. In the same way, all the wood veneers applied on the dashboard and other parts are from sustainable resources, qualified by the British Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC).
Prior Lunaz assignments consist of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Array Rover and Rolls-Royce models.
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