How much do you think someone will pay for an EV Porsche 356 outlaw?

This counts as an outlaw, right? 

This EV-swapped Porsche 356 is currently on Bring a Trailer. Auction ends later on Sunday. Propulsion comes from a NetGain HyPer 9 electric motor. 

Auction ends in three and a half hours.

Current bid: $30,000.

Cool car, would be even cooler if it came with the removed original drivetrain.

It'll be interesting to see what someone's willing to pay for this as it sounds like it still needs some work to make it a bit more usable. Like adding the missing seals to make it more waterproof.

I have very mixed feelings on doing this to a classic car, depending upon mindset. If the owner bought it with no drive train and just wanted something fun - not an investment - then sure. OTOH, if he removed a perfectly-working number-matching Porsche drive train, yeah, not so much. I have no idea what 356s are worth, but wonder if the selling price will end up being the same as a 356 with no drive train at all...

Of course, it doesn't matter what I nor anyone else think!

In reply to kb58 :

I'm seeing drive quality stock 356s starting around 60k-ish and I think with this one it's really a question if someone wants it really bad or not.

The fact that it's an actual Porsche is interesting.  As noted, likely a better investment to go with the original drivetrain.  The lack of interior is a bit confusing.  I could see that in a kit version, but for a real one, a real interior seems more appropriate.

It is a good test of what will likely be a trend of converting old cars, and may at some point almost become a necessity.  What cars are best for conversion?  Old big cars (more room for batteries) or small ones (fewer batteries, smaller motor needed)?

As far as a car in general? A 356 at this point is more of a mess around occasionally type car, and that is certainly appropriate for electric and maybe even better, at this point.

This car is an ex race car and it seems that unless the car has a great race history the market treats ex race cars as "hacked up". I've noticed a 240Z racer with spares will sell for the price of a rusty starter kit project.

I think this one adds an interesting data point in that it wasn’t a perfect street car but something that had perhaps seen things before. 

And the hammer has closed bidding: unsold at $67k.

I'm wondering what the performance is like with that motor and (what I think is original) four speed manual transmission.  I have done a little reading on the Hyper9 motors and it seems like having a multi-speed gearbox is basically a requirement for "normal" driving performance. 

Interesting.

I had a '66 912 that had no engine, but was otherwise complete. I bought it for 3K MANY years ago, and over the years worked on it off and on, restoring bits and pieces here and there - removed, media blasted, and repainted the suspension, reassembled with new bushings, ball joints, etc. Patched small rust holes in the floorpans, rebuilt the window regulators, etc. All the glass was intact and original, gauges, door latches, everything.

I had ambitious plans to swap in a different engine, but over the years the value of the car kept increasing, so I did my best to avoid damaging or changing anything. Other projects came along and took priority, I eventually realized that I had lost interest in modifying the car and decided to sell it so I could concentrate on one of my other projects.

The guy who ended up buying it had plans to put in a Tesla drivetrain, so it was perfect for him - no engine, but otherwise all there, and almost all original. I sold it for 15K...I still wonder how it ended up.      

Power is routed to the rear wheels through a Porsche 741 four-speed manual transaxle with modified gearing and a ZF limited-slip differential

So, is that transaxle going to handle the torque of the motor?

I guess if you want an electric sportscar, you need to start with something with poor collector value like a Volvo 1800e or 1800es.

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

I'm wondering what the performance is like with that motor and (what I think is original) four speed manual transmission.  I have done a little reading on the Hyper9 motors and it seems like having a multi-speed gearbox is basically a requirement for "normal" driving performance. 

Mostly it depends on how many amps the motor can get from the battery or controller.

One of the BaT pix is a hand drawn graph comparing torque.  IDK if the Porsche engine numbers are correct.

A complete graph for the HyPer9 shows the 230Nm is only if the motor can get ~850A.  It looks like the batteries and/or controller in conversion kit are limited to 760A or 750A. Assuming torque scales with amps, the system should max out around 200-210Nm.

By 5500RPM, torque from the Hyper9 probably drops off to ~130Nm or about the same as peak torque from the Porsche engine.

The BaT description says that the gearing isn't stock but does not say what it is.

Power is routed to the rear wheels through a Porsche 741 four-speed manual transaxle with modified gearing and a ZF limited-slip differential

David S. Wallens said:

And the hammer has closed bidding: unsold at $67k.

Yeah, that seems to hint at a rather ambitious reserve for what this is.

Too much.............

BoxheadTim said:

David S. Wallens said:

And the hammer has closed bidding: unsold at $67k.

Yeah, that seems to hint at a rather ambitious reserve for what this is.

Yeah, but does it matter that someone placed that EV box inside a Porsche vs. another brand? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

For the price? IMHO probably not as much as some people would like to believe. Although I think that converting something like a VW Bus gives you a vehicle with a more practical range, for starters.

I think in this particular case, what worked against a successful auction was a car that wasn't exactly built to everyone's taste and that in a lot of cases, might not even have the range to make it to the local C&C and back.

If you want to see a bunch of EV converted VWs and Porsches  plus other classics , check out EV West on Youtube,

EV West - YouTube

I do not think this 356B would have done well if it had a stock 356 motor , it was just not that nice .