Restomods Of The Future
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The popularity of restomods, classic cars that have been updated with late-model power units and creature comforts, has boomed throughout the last couple decades. There are a number of factors as to why, but one significant part of the equation is that new cars have become so effortlessly quick that older cars now, at a certain point, pose a bit of a road hazard. With a lack of basic safety equipment on board a vehicle that can hardly keep pace in the sea of iPhone-wielding traffic on today’s roads, it’s easy for a would-be joyride in a classic to become more stressful than fun. Another factor is the issue of resources necessary to keep a classic car on the road; as a car gets older and falls further into relative obscurity, well-versed mechanics become more and more difficult to locate and expensive to commission, so much so that in certain cases it can be prohibitive to ownership. At that point, when maintenance becomes more than a minor headache, the idea of installing a more powerful and efficient, later-model power unit with a more readily-available service network becomes a tempting solution.
The overarching goal of most restomods isn’t necessarily to turn a classic car into a full-fledged modern alternative, it is simply to make the car easier to own and operate in everyday situations. This ease-of-use-centric path of modification has us thinking about the long-term future of the restomod – with the proliferation of electric platforms as of late and the clear path forward in that regard, how long until we see an explosion in demand for electrified classics? Who will supply the electric parallel to the General Motors LS-series platform, the longstanding face of the restomod category, and spearhead the E-Classic movement?
It’s too early to determine who will lead the charge, but we’re just now seeing the E-Classic category take shape and get to its feet, having recently been brought to the public’s eye with the introduction of the electric Moke, a battery-powered take on the doorless, drop-top Austin Mini Moke of the 1960s. These little E-Mokes have quickly become part of the scenery in the more touristy beach towns of the world, with their simplicity to operate and minimal maintenance requirements making them the ideal around-town vacation-mobile. But still, these slow-speed, bare-bones E-Classics are just the tip of the iceberg – a ways off from the high performance, Tesla-based creations of our collective dreams.
Only time will tell if, how, and when battery-powered classics will steal the spotlight from the V8-powered restomods we’ve come to know and love, but it’s hard to imagine the demand not being there within just a handful of years. I mean, I can sure think of a few iconic classics that I wouldn’t mind seeing sit atop a P100D platform…
Written by: Jake DePierro
