Lunaz Range Rover EV converter announces huge expansion

More original Range Rovers turn electric as Lunaz creates ‘world’s largest upcycling campus’

Words: Graham Scott Pictures: Lunaz

Britain 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 and their workforce has recently doubled, with 250 experts in various fi elds 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 fl aw 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.

However, we are where we are, and where we are is with two vehicles demonstrating variations on the theme of rich owners wanting to look good. One on a shooting estate in the Scottish Highlands (although the fi nished vehicle will mostly be chauffeur-driven in Monaco), the other in a marina in Long Island, New York.

Each refl ects either the background or the end location – the blue of the ocean with the open top and open rear seating confi guration that best suits a yacht tender, the other with the interior featuring wool and leather and the more muted browns and greens of Scotland. Both have of course lost their charismatic growling V8s, now replaced by some whining. This comes from electric motors generating around 360bhp and 450lbf.ft of torque, so rather up on what the original V8 could aspire to.

The power packs must be massive, as obviously this is not a light vehicle to start with and they added reinforced box-section steel to help with all that’s needed for the all-wheel powertrains. There is regenerative braking which will also help but there will also be quite a lot of elements that will drain the power.

Naturally connectivity is high on the list, with the Town-confi gured version (that’s the one in coral, a colour the owner came up with herself) featuring Apple CarPlay and a 1300-watt amplifi er among other goodies. But we couldn’t leave the cabin without nosing around in the centre console area.

What do we fi nd there? Well, apparently not the used tissue, old sweet wrapper and a discarded face mask from 2020 that every car has to carry by law. Instead you’ll fi nd drinks carriers to either heat or cool, a water fridge and, I’ve saved the best till last, a watch winder for four timepieces. Some may have to go and look up what one of those actually is. I know someone who has one for six watches, so that their manual winding mechanisms never wind down because they’re diffi cult to set up again with date and time and tides and stuff. Yeah, and they say we in the fi rst world have things easy.

Overall, Lunaz reckons this one vehicle will have 50,000 man-hours (not being binary) in it to reach completion and perfection. The other vehicle, which is in Country confi guration, probably won’t be much quicker. It’s been converted rather obviously by taking the roof away. Add in the considerable weight of the electric motors and battery pack, and you can see why one of the fi rst tasks was to add in quite a bit of triangular steel section just to make sure it all stayed relatively rigid.

It’s not like it’s going to have to be thrown around racetracks or tough off-road courses, but this thing must weigh a considerable amount and need a lot of juice. However it should live a fairly easy life, mostly whirring between the owner’s property and yacht in Long Island, New York.

As such, the emphasis is not on performance but ambience and luxury in the open cabin. Notice how it has a rear passenger deck, with seating for six – guests or crew presumably. While the leatherwork looks cool, perhaps the most eye-catching element is the woodwork. This is all Mocca Walnut and it fl ows everywhere from the fascia to the rear deck. It’s all been carefully done so it renders in a chevron pattern but, to our eyes, the effect is like something out of Thunderbirds, very 1960s. Perhaps that was the intended vibe; it depends on what or who the owner is.

If you’re looking at that Range Rover Classic in your yard, with the sapling growing up through the rusted fl oor, you may be thinking you should be giving Lunaz a call. Maybe you should. But fi rst off check whether you have at least £250,000 as that’s the minimum you’ll need to keep your watch wound. But you can rest assured you will be totally on-trend and you’ll be having a clean-air experience until you whine past the chippy.