Jeffrey AronsonThat’s what John Travolta proclaimed when he sang about “Greased Lighting” in the musical Grease. Enthusiasts at the ANARC Diamond Jubilee in 2023 noted that among all the chatter of tappets, rumbles of petrol V8s or thrum of turbocharged diesels, a different sound emanated from a yellow Series Land Rover near the Rovers North display tent.
WHITTAM ENGINEERING – HAMILTON, NJ
The soft whine came from an EV conversion by Whittam Engineering, Hamilton, NJ. Throughout the long weekend, many enthusiasts jumped at the opportunity to drive and experience the instant torque and gentle noise from the engine compartment. The Marine Blue Series III had morphed into an AA Yellow Series IIA with the installation of a new bulkhead, as well as all the necessary kit required to build a fully functional, EV-powered Series Land Rover.
Andrew Whittam trained as an aircraft engineer specializing in avionics, with a concentration on electronics, both AC and DC power. He worked as a commercial pilot for British Airways, flying to remote corners of the globe such as Papua New Guinea and the Australian outback. In 2021, after 25 years with BA, he founded Whittam Engineering in Hamilton, NJ, to combine his love of classic cars with his desire to return to his engineering roots — channeling his passion for vintage vehicles with his interest in making them viable in the modern world.
In a twist of fate, Whittam’s current workshop sits across the road from the former home of the Mercer Automobile Factory – the home of America’s first sports car, the“Raceabout” of 1910. In fact, the Whittam workshop once produced batteries and radiators for Mercer’s fleet of handmade, high-performance cars. Now, a century later, Whittam’s EV conversions have the potential to alter the Land Rover driving landscape.
Andrew noted, “After extensive research, I chose to partner with Electrogenic UK — a world leader in the development of EV conversion kits. They are internationally recognized for their high-end bespoke classic car EV conversions and powertrain development. Even more impressively, the UK Ministry of Defence recently chose Electrogenic EV to explore the conversions of British Army Land Rovers.”
Steve Drummond, a mechanical engineer pioneer out of the nuclear power industry, and Ian Newstead, a tech who specializes in restoring vintage vehicles, founded Electrogenic in 2017. Steve, who serves as the company’s Director, told me, “We currently cover Series II, III and Defenders. We intend to add a Series I kit later this year, as well as a kit for classic Range Rovers. The transmission is identical to the Defender, but the battery boxes need re-packaging and we may add more range. There is not much demand for Discovery conversions in the UK (yet), but there may be demand in the USA. We’re open to the possibility.”
“The things that mark Electrogenic out as different are the sophistication and completeness of our kits — which are all custom designed for each vehicle marque — and our control software. Our software is developed in-house, which means we can buy and use any motor we like directly from the OEM, enabling our vehicle specifications to be without compromise. It also means we can add lots of ‘nice-to-haves,’ such as a range of drive selectors, giving owners a range of options for drive-select, profiles, off-road programming, hill-descent controls, etc. It’s another way of helping our partners deliver the perfect customized EV.”
Chris Clough, Coopersburg, PA, is an electrical engineer by profession and the owner of a wide range of Land Rovers: a ’97 NAS Defender 90, a Defender 110 modified by ECD, a Range Rover Autobiography SV and a “few” Range Rover Sports.
Soon he’ll be the proud owner of a Whittam Engineering Defender 90, using a Helderburg-built Defender as a donor. “It is very nice,” Chris said in an interview, “but with its 300Tdi motor, it’s a tractor. That’s fine if you’re on a beach on Martha’s Vineyard, but not to take to my office each day, with 55 mph driving and lots of traffic. It just wasn’t made for that kind of driving.”
“My ECD Defender 110 had an LS motor conversion; while I enjoyed the power and modernity of the drivetrain, I didn’t find it technically interesting. I sold it, looked at the North American Twisted Defender EV, but it seemed to be a long way off in the future.”
“I thought of doing the work myself, but after searching out options, realized that no one had a drop-in kit. I found Whittam Engineering and was impressed with their technical knowledge and engineering orientation. I’ve been working with their engineering team to design some custom touches.”
“I’ve had multiple electric vehicles, and I appreciate the quality of Whittam’s engineering standards.”
Electrogenics supples conversion kits to trained partners, who install them and provide customer support. The three partner firms in the US are the above-mentioned Whittam Engineering, Hamilton, NJ, as well as Rover Republic, Dallas, TX and InoKinetic, Temecula, CA.
ROVER REPUBLIC – DALLAS, TX
Drew Morrison’s name should be familiar to Dallas-area enthusiasts through his shop’s previous name, Xerbera. He grew up in Plymouth, Devonshire, UK, where his first car was a Defender 90 200 Tdi. Professionally, Drew worked as a supply chain consultant and found himself transferred to the US. After 30 years in that field, he returned to his interest in automobiles, opening a Corvette restoration shop. Drew realized that in the Dallas, TX area, one could find plenty of Corvette shops, but very few Land Rover ones; thus the creation of Xerbera.
In April, I met up with Drew and a British colleague, Glenn Sutton, at the Texas Rovers SCARR event. Glenn trained with JLR in the early 1990s, assigned to placements in Cowley and London, before coming to the US in 2016. He served as a production manager for ECD Automotive Design (formerly East Coast Defender) in Kissimmee, FL. After leaving ECD, Glenn helped Drew Morrison find donor vehicles in Europe. “I have a 1999 Defender 90 Td5 in Spain, with no rust,” Glenn exclaimed. Today, he serves as the Director of Quality and Warranty at Rover Republic.
While the Electrogenic kit offers a relatively easy engine conversion, differences between right hand drive [RHD] and left hand drive [LHD] bulkheads, frame components and petrol/diesel ancillaries have required close collaboration between Electrogenics and its partner shops. Drew Morrison noted, “There are so many different placements of crossmembers that we pay a lot of attention to the installation of the drivetrain so as to reduce vibration. And we’re in Texas, where the addition of air conditioning is a must. Since there’s no engine pulley to run the compressor, we had to come up with a solution.” In answer to the question, Drew insists, “There’s only a 5% drop in range when running the air conditioning.” The same challenges confront EV conversions for heaters and defrosters.
From the Electrogenics perspective, EV-converted Defenders should not experience range issues, as “they’re just not driven that far.” Drew Morrison projects that the on-road range would be about 150 miles, with 220 miles possible off-road. “The Electrogenic kits features a CCS fast charge system, reaching 95% charge within one hour. Over the past three months, we’ve worked with Electrogenics programmers and engineers to make the kit easier [thus quicker] to fit. Some of our customers wanted options for drive selection, so we used the selector knob seen on earlier-generation Range Rovers. We’re also working on creating a fascia screen and interfaces with rear cameras and lidar sensors.”
INOKINETICS – TEMECULA, CA
Everything about InoKinetics signals their interest in automobiles. For over 20 years, they’ve been the go-to company for Lotus automobile enthusiasts. In addition, they became distributors for the Ariel Atom and other niche cars. If you’re a significant anorak about automobiles, you might remember they created the Drakan Spyder, a 2,000 lb mid-engine, 430 hp V8, two-seater sports car.
Founder Shinoo Mapleton has worked with British auto companies for over 20 years. A graduate of Kettering University (formerly the General Motors Institute), the automotive engineer learned his craft working on the original Pontiac Fiero and spent many of his 17 professional years with 3M’s automotive division before moving to California in the early 2000s.
In a phone interview, Shinoo said, “I’ve owned and wrenched on classic cars. When you don’t drive them, they leak and break; it’s the nature of any mechanical thing. EV conversions solve this issue for classic car owners; you can repurpose a classic car yet make it reliable. I bought a hybrid and leased a FIAT 500 electric. Here in Southern California, you can use them year-round. As I did my research, Electrogenics impressed me with their very comprehensive approach, even creating their own proprietary software.”
InoKinetics struck a deal with them last year. “They sent a technical over to help us with the conversion of a Jaguar XKE. Within two weeks, the Jaguar was operable on its new drivetrain. Our work in niche automobiles had helped us create a network of suppliers for bits and bobs like brackets for LHD automobiles.”
“Look,” Shinoo leveled, “we’re interested in cool cars. I have gasoline running through my veins; I race a Lotus and love riding my Ducati. I’m sure I’ll have my own Defender one day with an EV conversion. I had received a lot of inquiries from Defender owners.”
“Lastly, the other great thing about the Electrogenics kit is that the installation is fully reversible. The history and provenance stay with the car. Removing the drivetrain does not destroy the originality because you can always go back. Electrogenics has taken the most benign approach to an EV conversion.”
EU member states, along with the UK, are moving quicker than the US to reduce ICE emissions, so it’s not surprising that the market exists to produce high quality, technologically advanced EV conversions. JLR has promised EV vehicles, starting with the Range Rover, for the 2025 model year.
As Danny Zuko sang in Grease, “the power you’re providin’, it’s electrifyin.’” We may be humming that in our Defenders one day.
DEFENDER KIT DETAILS
E62 DEFENDER
62kWh battery pack giving real-world range of 120 miles
120kW motor delivering 900Nm to the transfer box
The E62 Defender is the eco conversion, small but beautifully formed.
E70 DEFENDER
70kWh battery pack giving real-world range of 130 mile
150kW motor delivering 900Nm to the transfer box
The E70 Defender is the sports model – particularly fun in a Defender 90.
It has a slightly larger battery pack to back up a heavy foot and a more
powerful motor to sustain firm acceleration over 55mph.
E93 DEFENDER
93kWh battery pack giving real-world range of 150 miles
150kW motor delivering 900Nm to the transfer box
A bigger battery pack for more range and the higher power motor to match. The larger battery pack fits a Defender 110 and the 127/130 variants.
SERIES KIT DETAILS
E62 SERIES LAND ROVER
62kWh battery pack giving real-world range of 120 miles
120kW water-cooled motor delivering 900Nm to the transfer box
The E62 Series Land Rover kit is a significant upgrade to your vehicle. Smooth driving on and off-road, and quiet enjoyment of the countryside.
ESm SERIES LAND ROVER
40kWh battery pack giving real-world range of 80 miles
13kWh range-extender pack giving an additional 20 miles
90kW motor delivering 235Nm into the original gearbox
The ESm Series Land Rover kit is a cheaper conversion that retains the use – and the full character of – the original gearbox. In concept it is similar to the “Agricultural” Land Rover Defender kit. It uses the air-cooled Hyper9 motor coupled to a light-weight flywheel and a heavy-duty clutch, so you change gear just like you always did. The disadvantages of the Hyper9 for extensive on-road use in a Defender are not so apparent in a Series Land Rover, which is lighter and slower. This option therefore makes a great electric conversion.
For those interested in serious off-road performance – climbing steep muddy hills – we suggest buying the range extender pack. This puts more weight on the back wheels, so more bite up slippery slopes.
[Visit whittamengineering.com, rover-republic.com and inokinetic.com At press time, Electrogenic added JE Robison, Springfield, MA. –ed.]