After electric variants of the classic Rolls-Royces and the primal Range Rover, the British company Lunaz is now introducing an electric conversion of the classic Bentley Continental. The conversion will be available for several body styles.
Lunaz is there with the Bentley Continental converted to EV before Bentley itself. The first fully electric model from the British manufacturer will take until 2025. Until then, customers who are in the market for an electric Bentley can turn to Lunaz. The company is carrying out the electrical conversion on the classic Continental models S1, S2 and S3, built between 1955 and 1965. Both the coupe and the sedan can receive an electrical heart transplant if desired. To this end, the oldtimers are completely restored and rebuilt from the ground up, with Lunaz also upgrading the chassis and brakes, among other things. Furthermore, the Bentley gets improved air conditioning and an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay on board. Lunaz does not reveal technical specifications, such as the size of the battery pack and the power.
It goes without saying that this is a costly affair. For example, an electric Rolls-Royce from Lunaz costs at least € 390,000, while the Range Rover is sold for no less than € 270,000 excluding taxes. Lunaz also offers an electric version of the Jaguar XK120. Lunaz is not yet specifying a price for the Bentley Continental, but it is obvious that it will not necessarily be much lower than the previous models. So count on a starting price of between three and four tons in euros, before the tax authorities have collected its share. It is not known how many copies of Lunaz will build.
Emerging trend
The electrification of classics is becoming a real trend. Not only conversion companies such as Lunaz, but also the manufacturers themselves are involved. Aston Martin and Jaguar, for example, built electric versions of the E-type and DB6. Although Jaguar has killed that project, you can still order a conversion from Aston Martin. It also happens in America: Chevrolet offers the eCrate package for owners of a classic Chevy who like to live a quiet life without exhaust emissions.