12 minute read
VITAL SPARK
Taking charge?
When Gary White and Rebecca Denyer couldn’t find a company to build them an electric MGB, they decided to make their own… Could EV conversions be the future of classic cars?
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WORDS AND PHOTOS: STEVE HOLE
Gary White and Rebecca Denyyer he MGB GT you see here looks very tasteful; a 1981 Old English White example that has been sympathetically rebuilt and had its rubber bumpers replaced with chrome. Under the bonnet, though, the B-Series engine has been replaced by electric power. It is a reversible modification that offers an exhaust emission-free option for those looking to reduce their overall environmental impact.
The people behind it, Gary White and Rebecca Denyer, have since set up their own company, Vital Spark, so that other enthusiasts can make the switch to EV if they so choose. Vital Spark is located on a business park on the remains of the old Long Marston (latterly Shakespeare County) drag racing venue in Warwickshire.
Both Gary and Debbie realise that there will be a good proportion of MG Enthusiast readers who will find the prospect of a lovely B with electric power abhorrent. They are realists as well as passionate classic car enthusiasts.
They are also fans of electric cars and wanted to combine their leisure motoring with modern technology. Gary has already done this via his daily driver, a Porsche Taycan, but wanted to electrify their classic as well.
Because Gary and Rebecca couldn’t find what they were looking for elsewhere, they decided to create it themselves. About two years ago they approached an existing electric car conversion company, wanting to convert their MGB GT to electric power. They were quite surprised at the bottom-line figure on the quote they received for the work, the lead time before the project could be started and the length of the project itself. They decided that they could probably do it themselves.
Gary and Rebecca don’t do things by halves and realised that such a conversion isn’t as straightforward as a clutch change on a B-series so they set off on a near-vertical learning curve.
“There are plenty of companies concentrating on the classic Mini but, as we discovered, not so many dealing with the MGB GT and Roadster, ” said Gary.
With so many MGs still around, and a whole tranche of the classic car market centred on them, Gary suspected that interest levels in what they are offering would polarise opinion.
“At shows we get people shouting at us for what they see as ruining an MGB, ” he says. However, Rebecca adds:
T
“That’s fair enough but the positive comments and genuine number of enquiries we’ ve had
THE ELECTRIC MOTOR SITS LOW AND THE REALLY
CLEVER ELEMENT HERE IS THAT VITAL SPARK’S ENGINEERS HAVE MANAGED TO LINK THE MOTOR TO THE MGB’S STANDARD GEARBOX...
thus far is overwhelmingly supportive. ”
Apart from cosmetic work, the Vital Spark team, completed by Electromechanical Engineer Paul Wawiorko, his assistant Artur Chodorowski and Business Development Manager, Sean White, have been responsible for all the work on the MGB GT you see here.
“As time moves forward it will become increasingly difficult to keep classic cars on the road, ” says Gary. “Added to this, after becoming more aware of the negative impact fossil fuels are having on the planet, we wanted to change this passion for good.
So, how do you buy an electric MG from Vital Spark or at least convert your own car? Well, it’s quite simple. You can choose one of their DIY kit packages or they will convert your car for you. There are caveats and a few hurdles to clear before your order is signed off, however. It’s not quite as easy as going to a classic car sales specialist and driving off in a car out of their showroom.
To become a Vital Spark customer for the DIY option the car you are intending to convert has to be a sound example. They need to see it physically, or virtually, before any transaction takes place.
Gary says: “It’s pointless using a rusty or mechanically duff donor vehicle. ” There are also potential warranty issues and registration implications involved.
With that in mind they also need to see the completed car, if you have gone the DIY route, and will check it all over for you. As long as all is in order, they ’ll issue you with a completion certificate. The reason for this diligence is to help with re-registering your vehicle. It will be classed in the UK as a Radically Altered Vehicle, a category that DVLA and some kit car builders are familiar with and, if not careful, can fall foul of.
When embarking on a radically altered
project, you need plenty of photographic evidence for DVLA: pictures of the car before, after and during the process. They may even request an inspection. As long as you have done it right and met the criteria there is nothing to worry about.
Vital Spark is also understandably wary about the more curious customer tampering with their electric motors and battery kits. We’re talking serious voltages here that require specialist knowledge and tools so, if the unwary went poking a screwdriver into the wrong place, or were left to their own devices, it could prove to be fatal. Therefore, all packages are firmly sealed and are a ‘ plug-and-play ’ fitment.
A DIY conversion kit costs £34,438 inclusive of VAT and gives you everything you need to convert your MGB or GT. For an additional £4,800 Vital Spark will fit the conversion for you so it’s fair to say than an EV MGB isn’t cheap.
From the outset, Vital Spark always wanted its factory-converted cars to remain sympathetic to the originals. As you can see here, for all intents and purposes, the white MGB GT looks stock until you delve deeper. There are no body amendments or appendages, no chassis modifications. The interiors remain as original as possible. The powertrain is the obvious difference (but should you desire, it can always be changed back).
Other running gear, such as brakes and suspension are as original, although if you want to up the power (all possible just by plugging in a lap-top) you will need to upgrade major components. Electric motors deliver comparatively colossal, and instant, torque and the MGB was designed several decades ago.
So what’s the Vital Spark like? The first clue that everything is not as it seems is when you lift the bonnet. Gone is the familiar looking B-Series, replaced by what looks like the insides of a fridge or a freezer. The electric the B-series sat, picking up on the original engine mounting points.
The motor is a 110v, 80kW [approx. 107.3bhp] unit supplied by Netgain, a company set up to serve the aftermarket electric conversion movement. There are ten sealed battery units mounted under the floor: six at the front, four at the rear, all monitored by a Battery Management System (BMS). The units on this white B GT were sourced from Jaguar Land Rover and hail from their I-Pace R&D test cars.
The BMS basically does the job of an ECU, or engine control unit, fitted to a petrol or diesel engine that, among other things, prevents an engine from overfuelling. In this context, the BMU prevents an electric car from over-charging.
Sitting next to the BMU is the motor controller and also a charger for the car’s 12v battery, which controls the auxiliaries such as lighting, air-conditioning and radio, as on a ‘ conventional’ car.
The electric motor sits low and the
Battery pack system is stored in the boot with charging socket where the exhuast pipe would emerge on a standard MGB GT
TO BECOME A VITAL SPARK CUSTOMER FOR THE DIY OPTION, THE CAR YOU ARE INTENDING TO CONVERT HAS TO BE A SOUND EXAMPLE.
clever element here is that Vital Spark’s engineers have managed to link the motor to the MGB’s standard gearbox, via a bespoke, fabricated adapter plate. It still has a manual gearshift, unlike an ordinary EV, though it only works in third and fourth gear as there is sufficient torque to make the lower two ratios irrelevant.
At the rear is the charger which, on this car, sits in the boot (it replaces the fuel tank on Roadster versions). Vital Spark has installed a data port which facilitates software updates and diagnostics should a fault develop.
In place of the exhaust tailpipe is a Type 2 charger. You can charge up via a domestic plug (3.5kw), which takes seven hours for a full charge. Overall electric range is about 120 miles.
There’s nothing alien or out of place here. The car will feel familiar to any MGB GT owner, as will the controls, other than the rev. counter which has been replaced by a power meter.
Starting the car has safety procedures built-in. You turn the ignition key, at which point a signal is sent to the BMS and motor. You then press the ‘ start’ button on the dash, wait for a tell-tale ‘ click’ and then engage the accelerator and off you go.
If you are an EV newbie it’ll take a few miles to get used to the noise: silence. Apart, that is, from road and tyre noise. It drives and handles much like a normal B GT, as it weighs just 12kg more than the petrol original. You ignore the first two gears. Simply engage third and let the torque do the work. Once up to speed you can choose to select fourth, if you wish, but you can leave it in third quite happily. It depends on road conditions and what you want to do with the car.
Vital Spark has capped power from the battery to 80Kw (about 65% of its overall capability) and it feels perfectly adequate for road use. For those of us used to how an MGB behaves, how it accelerates and sounds, this car messes with the senses. It feels like an MGB, albeit a silent one, yet accelerates like a very fast sports car. 0-60mph is despatched in fewer than seven seconds and the top speed is limited to 90mph. Yet progress can also be as sedate as you like.
Vital Spark’s demonstrator is also fitted with a Hoyle Engineering front suspension upgrade, which helps match the handling to the performance potential the car now has. For those who want to take the conversion further, the battery ’s output can be increased easily, via a laptop computer, and the BMS remapped.
A clever touch is the battery regeneration switch on the dash. Position ‘0’ turns it off. Engaging ‘I’ or ‘II’ allows the battery to recharge itself under regenerative braking, a feature found on modern EVs such as the Nissan LEAF and MG ZS EV.
Admittedly, a conversion such as this won’t be to everyone’s tastes, and it’s far from a conventional take on the MGB, but the package is certainly well executed. With technology evolving all the time, prices, like those of the ubiquitous colour TV, will eventually come down (batteries have come down in price by 85% in a decade, for example). For now it remains a pricey alternative to a normal MGB or B GT.
Contact
● Vital Spark, Unit 2, Bird Industrial Park, Station Road, Long Marston, Warwickshire CV37 8RP ● Email: hello@vital-spark.io ● Website: www.vital-spark.io
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