EV-swapping vintage cars is a hot topic these days that divides automotive enthusiasts. Of course there are the purists who believe a car should remain unmodified from the day it drove out of the factory, but electric swaps are an absolute boon for people who actually want to drive their old cars in normal everyday traffic. One of Hollywood’s most charismatic stars, Dev Patel, drives an electric-swapped little old Fiat around town everyday, and in this quick interview with Vanity Fair, you can instantly tell it makes him so happy. Would he be as happy if he had to deal with a 499cc two-cylinder making just 13 horsepower? I think not.
I used to be torn on the issue of electrifying fun old cars, and I’ve come to the conclusion that EV-swapped classics are better when the driving character of the car is entirely unrelated to its engine. If it had a bad engine or an engine too wimpy to keep up with modern traffic, absolutely swap it out for a little electric motor and some batteries. The simplicity and extra power alone are worth the price of admission. Would I want an electric-swapped early Porsche 911? No. But a Fiat 500, Volkswagen Bus, or Continental Mark II would be instantly improved by the quiet refinement and instant torque of an EV powertrain.
Patel is extremely relatable in this quick three-minute video. “I found it on Craigslist, this car, actually. And I spent way too much money on it.” Haven’t we all? There’s no part of buying an old car that is rational or reasonable, and when we’re bitten by the bug, it has to come home with us. We lie to ourselves and we say we’re just going to look at it, or whatever, and yet it ends up following us home after we paid more than we planned. It’s a sickness, really.
“I dunno, it makes people smile. It makes me smile,” says Patel. We so often forget, but that’s what this car hobby is supposed to be about.