Introduction
January isn’t a great month, is it? The days are short, the weather is freezing cold, and bank accounts are verging on empty after the extravagances of Christmas. Unless you’ve got a birthday, anniversary, or major event, it is a month you endure with your eye on hope.
And hope is one of the most important factors if, for example, you own a car company. Jack Kerridge is the founder of Silent Classics, an electric car conversion business based in Shaftesbury, Dorset.
The company’s main product is 500E, a converted classic Fiat which does away with the rear-mounted petrol engine and replaces it with a series of electric motors and batteries.
From £28,000, drivers can own a piece of Dolce Vita without the vapori di benzina (petrol fumes) and travel the equivalent of London to Brighton and back (just).
Performance & Handling
Power comes from a 21KWh Tesla battery pack that goes through a 44KW motor to the rear wheels. Complete with a 3.3KW charger this is a genuinely usable urban EV with performance to match. Although the 500s 44KW may not sound like much compared to other electric cars, it doesn’t need to be much. Whoever buys one of these cars will probably use it in a town, village, or city centre, places where the speed limit rarely climbs above 30mph.
Fortunately, Silent Classics is based along the road from the famous town of Shaftesbury. Around the ancient village, best known for its role in Ridley Scott’s Hovis advert, it fits through gaps contemporary city cars wouldn’t dare try.
What’s more, up for the famous Gold Hill, the electric torque propelled it to the summit with ease and on the way down, regenerative braking eased the descent and put more juice into the battery pack.
On the local 40mph roads, while the wind noise from the sunroof made the car sound like a happy turbine and potholes suddenly looked like sinkholes, it never felt vulnerable. Furthermore, the electric motor’s oomph meant acceleration was gradual and new disk brakes were effective in stopping what there was of the car’s mass.
Interior and Practicality
Silent Classics carries over most of the original Fiat 500’s interior including the front and rear seats and most of the dashboard.
On the car we drove there was brand new software with information speed, range, regeneration, and gear selection. Customers can also spec a heater, heated seats, upgraded suspension and various charging options.
In a lovely retro touch, the gear stick remains to move the car from first to reverse to neutral; it also activates the regenerative braking, a 21st-century system that sits happily alongside the 20th-century flyaway handbrake.
Up front, there is no frunk, but the rear seats can act as an alternative drop point for luggage and the weekly shop. The passenger enjoys some leg room and there’s plenty of space despite the 1950s proportions.
Conclusion
The Silent Classics 500-E cannot be viewed alongside the likes of most modern electric cars, it’s not in their field, it’s more specialised. Like the Prodrive P25 or the Citroen Ami, it’s probably not going to be someone’s primary car.
Put this aside and what we have is a genuinely great little car, one with charm as well as sustainability pulsing through it. As an urban runaround, it walks the line between class and sustainability with great aplomb.
The little 500 acted like a people magnet too. At the top of Gold Hill, it wasn’t Hovis that dominated the conversation, but the little blue Fiat sitting comfortably at the top.
Standing beside it was the car’s owner and Silent Classic’s founder, Jack Kerridge who has built his company on a combination of passion, love, and electricity.
At a time when Britain’s politicians are under question and the automotive industry under threat, it is reassuring to know there are still some innovators moving the game forward.
