Everatti’s Fully Electric 964 Coupe: The Future or a Failure?
While this classic 911 might look amazing with its detailed carbon-fiber bodywork, Everatti misses a key aspect of the 964.
Ever since Singer Design began charging over a million dollars for classic “restomod” Porsches, the market for older 911s has been chaotic, to say the least. Companies far and wide have scurried into the niche market in response, hoping to also benefit from this lucrative circumstance.
Nowadays aftermarket customizers of classic Porsches can be found across a variety of disciplines from off-roading to race track specials. To stick out amongst the bunch, what must one do to capture the interest of the intended audience?
For British company Everrati, their edge is converting a variety of classic vehicles into fully electrical models. This ideologically in itself already seems suspect, but we feel the necessity to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Henry Catchpole and the Carfection YouTube channel also recently gave their thoughts on Everrati’s latest prototype, a fully electric 964 911. Is this truly the future of enthusiast motoring or is the idea a mistake from the get-go?
Electrifying a Classic 911 Isn’t Easy
According to Catchpole, Everrati is built from “a band of people for whom a Porsche, Ferrari, or Bentley will never be solely utilitarian.” Recognizing the need for a sustainable electrified future, their supposed rectifying course of action is modifying classic vehicles.
We aren’t entirely sure how they came to that conclusion as their mission statement. The conversion concept is certainly is far from a zero-emission process, but rather, a potentially wasteful scenario if disposing of a perfectly functional combustion engine.
Catchpole also expresses how “it pains them to strip flat-6 and V12 hearts from icons, supplanting their innards with batteries and electric motors.” However, this is unfortunate circumstance is the functioning standard of the company itself.
Certainly, Everatti is still composed of a group of enthusiasts who love both classic vehicles and modern technology. Even so, the perfect balance point between the two is a very fine line that is easily mis-stepped.
To clarify, there is no reason for purchasing a classic 911 other than for the sheer enjoyment of driving. It is certainly not the most practical or utilitarian vehicle one can drive and is far from affordable.
So as Catchpole states, “in a world with no internal combustion engines, is there a point to having a classic car like this?” Well, we would say not in the format presented by this 964.
Beautiful, but Hard to Love
The vehicle itself is stunningly painted with painstakingly detailed bodywork. The whole chassis is built knocked back to bare metal including the wide flares seen in this model, all finished in carbon fiber.
Many little fine details grace the 964 body and we certainly agree the car visually looks stunning. The exterior aesthetic is without a doubt its silver lining.
However, we immediately come to question the fake rear exhaust tips, a seeming unnecessary addition to an electric vehicle. There is no need to fool an unsuspecting spectator, they will know it is electric.
This false exhaust seems only to exist to legitimize Everatti’s “Sound Generation System”, which synthesizes artificial engine noises into the cabin and exterior of the vehicle.
To most enthusiasts, a system such as this is a big red flag and Catchpole feels no different, “it sounds too fake to me and just reminds me that there is an absence with an Everatti.”
The truly gaping hole in the company’s approach is that they believe the electric powerplant will provide character to the classic 911, when instead, it does the exact opposite.
Technology Doesn’t Replace Character
The 53kWh battery is also far from impressive from a numbers perspective, only about 500 HP and 369 ft/lbs of torque, when major EV competitors are boasting 1,000 HP+ powerplants.
Not to mention, a very limited range 150 mile driving range, which exacerbates the fact the battery technology used in this 964 is far from cutting edge.
The car is not particularly practical either, as both the rear and front trunks are completely utilized by the massive battery units hosted in the car, leaving next to no storage space.
Even with massive amounts of carbon fiber, the EV 964 is still just nearly as heavy as its ICE counterpart. Due to the battery packs extending in front of the rear axle, the car also loses part of its characteristic rear-engine 911-feel.
The Everatti is also plagued by consistent noise from the 295-section width CUP 2 tires, wind noise, and suspension clunks. All things that would be completely bearable if there was a proper soundtrack blending them all in unison.
Alas, this is not the case. Catchpole emphasizes, “there is no denying that you are missing a large part of the character from a car like this.”
When we consider the £250,000 conversion price plus the cost of a donor car, we are looking at a near half-million-dollar 964 with little to no soul. There is no context in which we could justify that price for this product.
Although this may be a prototype, the Everatti 964 is just not a project we can get behind. Catchpole acclaims, “I want character in the cars of the future.” So far, no EV-based automotive outfit has found that delicate sweet spot. We wait patiently until that day comes.
