NEWS
More original Range Rovers turn electric as Lunaz creates ‘world’s largest upcycling campus’ Words: Graham Scott Pictures: Lunaz
B
ritain is nothing if not entrepreneurial, and capable of reinvention. Despite what the state can throw at its people, they consistently show why this little island has such a strong place in the world. In this particular instance, we invented the Range Rover and sold it around the world. More than half a century later, we’re now turning some of the remaining originals into transport trendy for the 2020s. Lunaz, for those who don’t know, convert classic prestige vehicles into classic prestige electric vehicles. They’re based near Silverstone
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and their workforce has recently doubled, with 250 experts in various fields joining what is described as ‘the largest upcycling campus in the world’. Upcycling is of course very on trend, and I recently joined in by upcycling a pair of old jeans – I had a large patch sewn on a hole and therefore upcycled what would have been recycled. But, no, I don’t expect reward or thanks, it’s just something I do quietly and without fanfare apart from announcing it publicly. Naturally if you’re keen to show how little material toys mean to you then you’ll have a classic Range Rover. And of course to show
that you care, you’ll want to convert it to run on electricity. That way you can say, as Lunaz does, that your vehicle is a ‘clean-air expression of an off-road vehicle’. And, okay, just for once I won’t point out the obvious flaw in this preening self-regard, which is that the pollution and emissions are simply transferred to a power station somewhere else, and the elements for the batteries are dug out of the ground with massive pollution effects and much death and suffering on children, animals, birds and the environment. That last bit was implied rather than said out loud.
4x4 22/11/2022 16:25
