If it looks like a GT40, goes like a GT40 and sounds like a GT40, it must be…the latest classic car to go electric. It’s the Everrati GT40, an Anglo-American project to reinvent Ford’s iconic Le Mans winner as a battery-powered supercar for an emissions-free future. And before you ask, no real GT40s were harmed in its making.
We heard from Cotswolds-based Everrati for the first time last year when it announced a tie-up with Superperformance, the US manufacturer of 1960s-era replica sports cars. The idea was for a new-build homage to the famous Ford but with electric motors in place of a big-block V8. This one has something that other GT40 wannabes might kill for: recognition as the world’s only GT40 EV in the official Shelby Registry.
We haven’t seen one in the flesh yet but the project is up and running, the order book is open (price? Ask…) and Everrati this week explained for the first time just what is going to make this electric GT40 tick.
That would be two whopping radial flux permanent magnet motors on the rear axle, each with 400PS (298kW) and 400Nm (295lb ft) of torque. Rather more power than the real thing then. Top speed might be a very un-Le Mans-like 125mph but with 0-62mph in under 4.0 seconds the electric GT40 promises to be brisk enough.
The 60kWh batteries are integrated into the chassis sills and low down behind the seats. Everrati says this custom design features an advanced, liquid-cooled safety system and 700-volt electrical architecture that can rival anything an OEM might put together. Range is said to be 125 miles and with a fast-charger you can get an 80 per cent top-up in 45 minutes.
It has spirited performance and definite GT40 good looks then, but how on earth can it sound and feel like the real thing? The answer lies in using technology developed for high-end racing simulators. Select “Race Mode” and you can “evoke the visceral engagement of the original GT40” thanks to simulated gearchanges and 110dB of piped-in V8 burble from twin active sound generators. Not real, but probably better than your typical electric motor whine. Everrati says making the car characterful and engaging but also true to the performance characteristics of the original car was a priority.
Other things that might add to its GT40-ness include a 40:60 weight distribution that is close to that of the original GT40 MkII, a race-derived limited-slip differential and a kerb weight of 1,320kg – which Everrati says is a little less than a V8 original.
Everrati engineering chief Mike Kerr tells us: “A car such as the GT40 comes with a heritage and performance that sets high expectations. Through our strategic partnership with Superperformance, we are confident that we have delivered something extraordinary.
“Our advanced driver-focused visceral engagement technology will enable drivers to access a fully immersive aural experience and reignite the romance of the era in which the GT40 dominated the Le Mans 24 Hours in the 1960s, in a new era of zero-emission electric mobility.”
Source: Goodwood
