Electrogenic brings the DeLorean DMC-12 Back to the Future with a ‘drop-in’ EV conversion kit
Where BEV conversions are going, we don’t need roads… Actually, we still very much need roads, but we no longer need to look at the original DeLorean DMC-12, considered by many as a design far ahead of its time, as a dated combustion classic. The EV conversion experts at Electrogenic have introduced a new “plug and play” kit that can bring any sample of the original DeLorean into the future of electric mobility. It still can’t actually travel through time, though…
If you haven’t heard of UK-based EV conversion specialist Electrogenic yet, its latest addition to the portfolio will help you remember the name. Since being founded in 2018, the company has not only made it possible to electrify several classic cars but continues to do so using clever designs that maintain the integrity of the original vehicles with subtle touches to support their new all-electric powertrains.
The company uses specialized “drop-in” kits that present a “plug and play” solution for a growing lineup of notable models, including Land Rovers, classic Porsche 911s, and a 1960s Jaguar E-Type. Last summer, we covered Electrogenic’s most complex EV conversion to date – a 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II commissioned by Aquaman himself, Jason Mamoa.
For its EV conversion next project, Electrogenic has once again tied itself to Hollywood and has gone (slightly) younger in the classic DeLorean it has chosen to electrify. The DMC-12 was the flagship model of DeLorean Motor Company that held a brief moment in the sun during the 1980s thanks to its gull-wing doors and stainless steel exterior (you’re welcome, Cybertruck).
The original rear-engine vehicle served as a lesson in design by Giorgetto Giugiaro… and a lesson in how not to run an automotive company by John DeLorean. Still, the DMC-12 remains a cult classic in pop culture thanks to its starring role in the Back to the Future franchise.
The original iteration of DeLorean Motor Company only lasted seven years, but it was revived as an all-electric brand in 2022. However, DeLorean 2.0 also shuttered its headquarters a year later. While we aren’t likely to see a new DeLorean EV model on roads any time soon, Electrogenic has introduced an EV conversion kit to electrify the original.
The famed DeLorean gains an EV conversion kit
Great Scott! The DeLorean DMC-12 can now be retrofitted with an EV conversion kit announced by Electrogenic, bringing it into the 21st Century without any risk of going back in time and getting hit on by your mom. Phew.
The Electrogenic team said it exhaustively developed this new “drop-in” EV conversion package for the 1980s DeLorean, complete with its own proprietary EV powertrain technology that is “future-proof” and entirely reversible.
The conversion features 43 kWh of OEM-grade batteries positioned in place of the fuel tank beneath the front luggage compartment and above the rear motor. Thanks to its clever battery packaging, Electrogenic can keep the original structure intact without cutting anything.
It may not leave a trail of flames when it accelerates like it did on the big screen, but future drivers of the “plug and play” DeLoreans can take advantage of 160 kW of power and 310 Nm (~229 lb-ft) of torque. Despite the EV conversion weighing about 40 kg (88 lbs) more than the original V6 DeLorean, its all-electric powertrain halves its 0-60 mph acceleration from over ten seconds to less than five.
Other features include regenerative braking, range-saving Eco mode, and a Sport Mode for maximum power. Inside, you can add several other new features, such as Apple Car Play (thank you), enhanced air conditioning, and a bespoke virtual dashboard. The DeLorean DMC-12 is also the first Electrogenic EV conversion to feature “Launch Control” for sprints off the line at a red light… or if you want to try to bend space and time.
As with all Electrogenic EV conversion kits, the DeLorean offers CCS fast charging that can replenish in one hour, as well as vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities – 3kW of 240V power in case you want to set up a public screening of Back to the Future in a JCPenney parking lot somewhere.
Due to the limits in battery storage within the vehicle’s existing chassis, Electrogenic’s EV conversion of the DeLorean only offers 150+ miles of all-electric range, but that’s more than enough to cruise around and show it off. The DMC-12 has always been a head-turner, and BEV capabilities only add to its lore. Electrogenic CEO Steve Drummond shared a similar sentiment:
We’re delighted with the results of our ‘plug and play’ DeLorean EV conversion package; it transforms the DMC-12 from an American cruiser into a true sports car, with performance that perfectly matches its timeless space-age visuals. When John DeLorean set out to make the DMC-12 over forty years ago, he was determined to create a sports car that was sustainable and would stand the test of time. An EV conversion therefore makes total sense and feels in keeping with the ethos of the original project. I can also attest that the car’s original, Lotus-engineered, suspension is more than up to the task of handling the new-found torque; the car is fabulous to drive.
During the DeLorean’s road testing and calibration program for over the past few months, our engineering team has been blown away by the response it gets from the public; it generates interest and excitement like nothing else. You’re constantly being stopped by DeLorean fans asking for pictures or wanting to take a closer look at the car.
The DeLorean DMC-12 EV conversion kit is now available for sale through Electrogenic’s vetted global installer network, which includes numerous partners in the United States.
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Kenworth has announced the addition of Bendix’ Fusion advanced driver assist system (ADAS) to its line of options on the T680 line of Class 8 commercial semi trucks – a lineup that includes the Next Generation T680E battery electric semi truck.
One of the many new trucks revealed at the 2025 ACT Expo in Anaheim, California earlier this year, the Next Generation Kenworth T680E featured the latest advancements in battery-electric technology, an enhanced exterior design, and a suite of new, in-cab technology that extends to the addition of three Bendix Fusion version: ADAS, ADAS PRO, and ADAS PREMIER.
All three of the announced ADAS packages offer updated Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with ACC Stop and Auto Go™, a new Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking (PAEB) feature, and a new High Beam Assist feature to reduce the likelihood of blinding oncoming drivers supported by the addition of a new forward-looking camera.
Those updates are in addition to the ADAS units Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Multi-Lane Autonomous Emergency Braking, Highway Departure Braking (HDB), and Stationary Vehicle Braking (SVB), Lane Departure Warning, and Bendix® Blindspotter® Side Object Detection already available on previous versions of the ADAS-equipped Kenworth.
Kenworth migital mirrors
Now that we’ve got that acronym-loaded word-salad out of the way, we can get to the point: the newest generation of electric trucks is easier and safer to drive – and not just safer for the truck’s operators, but for the people who share the roads with them, too.
Kenworth T680E electric semi
The Next-Generation T680E is available with up to 605 peak hp and 1,850 lb-ft of torque from a PACCAR Integrated ePowertrain fed from a 500 kWh li-ion battery pack good for more than 200 miles of loaded range. The updated Class 8 BEV is rated up to 82,000 lb. gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR), and can get that load back up to speed quickly with a 350 kW peak charge rate that means the T680E can charge up to 90% in just two hours.
That system isn’t just more efficient than the first generation truck, it’s also more serviceable than it was before.
“This move to a fully integrated and ground-up PACCAR design means we were able to design for enhanced serviceability,” explains Joe Adams, Kenworth’s chief engineer. “Providing easier access to the Master Service Disconnects for improved safety and increased uptime and allowing the use of the DAVIE service tool for troubleshooting and diagnostics.”
The Next Generation Kenworth T680E electric semi truck is designed for short and regional-haul, LTL, and drayage operations. It’s available as a day cab as either a tractor or straight truck in a 6×4 axle configuration.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth; via Kenworth.
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Just like it says on the tin – retailers are advertising killer deals on the fun-to-drive Kia Niro EV, with one midwest auto dealer reporting more than $10,000 off the sticker price of the Niro EV Wind. That’s nearly 25% off the top line price!
SKIP THE STORY: get straight to the deals.
The Kia Niro EV gets overshadowed by its objectively excellent EV6 and EV9 stablemates – both of which are currently available with substantial lease cash and 0% APR financing, in fact – but that doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent little electric runabout in its own right.
The last time I had a Niro EV tester, my kids loved it, I liked that it was quicker and more tossable than I expected it to be, and my wife liked the fact that “it doesn’t look electric. It looks normal.” And, with well over 200 miles of real world range (EPA-rated range is 253 miles), it was more than up to the task of commuting around Chicago and making the trip up to the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee and back without even needing to look for a charger.
It’s not the primary family hauler I’d choose – but as a second car? As a primary car for a slightly smaller family (1-2 kids, instead of 3-4)? The Kia Niro EV Wind, with a $42,470 MSRP, seems like a solid, “can’t go wrong” sort of choice. You know?
You won’t even have to pay that much, though. Raymond Kia in Antioch, Illinois is advertising a $42,470 Niro EV for $32,431 (that’s $10,039, or about 24% off the MSRP), and several others are advertising prices in the $33,000 range.
And, while we’re at it:
Kia Niro EV gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: CarsDirect, Edmunds, Raymond Kia.
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Many school districts who used EPA funding to help purchase Lion Electric school buses are now stuck with broken down or unsafe vehicles – but Lion’s new Canadian investors seemingly have no plans to make things right.
“All four Lion buses that we own are currently parked and not being used,” Coleen Souza, interim transportation director of Winthrop Public Schools, told Jay Traugott over at Clean Trucking. “Two of them are in need of repairs which would cost us money which we are not willing to invest in because the buses do not run for more than a month before needing more repairs.”
The story is much the same at other US school districts who deployed Lion Electric buses over the last few years – and the trouble they describe isn’t isolated to a single component or system. One district we spoke to had onboard chargers that failed almost immediately after being plugged into a L2 AC charger. Another that spoke to Traugott reported emergency door gaps, power steering failure, loss of power, and braking issues.
As bad as the revelations of safety and drivability issues and $250 million in unresolved debt have been, it’s the objectively stupid design choices that have been the most shocking.
“Lion built an auxiliary diesel heater to heat the bus, essentially writing the manual as they went,” explained a school superintendent in the midwest, who asked not to be named. “It was fascinating to watch but there were design flaws with the heater. For example, the intakes pointed downward and we’re driving across rural roads and the intake sucks in that dirt.”
“Using a diesel-powered heater to warm an electric bus also somewhat defeats the purpose of going 100% zero-emissions,” added Traugott.
Despite a new electric school bus rebate and a fresh cash injection from Vincent Chiara, president of Quebec real estate powerhouse Groupe MACH, and Lion director Pierre Wilkie, however, it seems like no help is coming.
It just gets worse and worse
Despite early speculation – some of it my own, in fact – that the new investors would take the Canadian government up on its offer to help subsidize more electric school bus production and honor the company’s outstanding warranty claims, it appears the only vehicle line the new investors are interested in reviving are the the Class 8 electric semi manufacturing operations in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec.
The US school districts who spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in the hopes that Lion buses would help decarbonize their fleets and reduce students’ exposure to harmful diesel emissions? Many of them are back to using diesel, while others are trying to get their deposits back so they can buy something else.
Here’s hoping any school districts on the fence for electrification recognize that their are very real, very well-engineered, and very financially sound electric school bus manufacturers out there who can deliver on their promises.
SOURCES: Chicago Tribune, Clean Trucking, Electrical Business.
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