In December, Lunaz announced its first batch of product availability for classic electric Range Rovers. The Silverstone, England-based company, one of the leading creators of electric classic cars, will provide an initial run of 50 of its electrified luxury SUV built in the “classic era” between 1970 and 1994. Prices for classic electric Range Rovers start at £245,000 excluding local taxes, with first customer deliveries anticipated for the summer of 2021.
“Re-engineering, electrification, and upcycling are the solutions to the pressing need to further the legacies of the most significant cars in the world,” said David Lorenz, Founder, Lunaz. “Adding classic electric Range Rovers to the Lunaz portfolio answers sustained customer demand for a clean-air expression of the world’s definitive SUV.”
In response to customer feedback, the electric Range Rovers classics are joining a Lunaz range that includes Jaguar, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce classics. Customers will be able to select from either three-door or five-door configurations in either Town or Country specification.
“We designed inherent flexibility within our approach to upcycling the world’s most celebrated cars,” said Jon Hilton, Technical Lead & Managing Director, Lunaz. “The commencement of production of the first electric classic Range Rovers demonstrates the scope of vehicles that can be re-engineered and given an entirely new life through conversion to our proprietary electric powertrain.”
The more urban Town version has an increased focus on rear-seat and driver comfort, reflecting their dual use as either self-driven luxury vehicles or chauffeured cars. It will be available in standard and long wheelbase.
The Country specification will include a full suite of engineering, technological, and design features that enhance a full-electric off-roading experience. This includes a four-wheel-drive system, updated suspension including anti-roll bars, and uprated brakes.
Custom treatment
The utility of the original Range Rover interior design will be significantly elevated, applying a Lunaz design philosophy to balance the integration of technology and usability within the classic architecture. The company says it is executed with the highest quality materials from a palette that responds to traditional and contemporary tastes and lifestyles.
Design Director Jen Holloway and her team will work with customers to tailor cars to their requirements. Material palettes that honor the textile interior that debuted on the original Range Rover will be offered as well as more traditional upholstery options executed in fine leathers and woods.
Usability is enhanced by a suite of contemporary technologies including infotainment, air conditioning, and entertainment screens. All will be “sensitively integrated” into the existing design scheme to ensure the spirit of the original car is maintained.
Lunaz will also offer more specialist interpretations of the classic Range Rover. For example, there will be a fully roofless option, first seen in the James Bond classic Octopussy and a rare version featured in some of the world’s great car collections.
Because of their scarcity, company engineers will take existing conventionally bodied classics and convert them to “Safari Specification” as part of the full bare-metal restoration and re-engineering process. The world’s first electric and roofless SUV has already been allocated to a European customer.
Every car by Lunaz represents an individual customer build, providing broad scope for personalization. The Country specification could include modifications to storage areas or a boot space for the transportation of equipment and refreshments for field sports. For Town cars, the creation of a bar area for rear-seat chauffeured occupants can be tailored to the customer’s favorite choice of beverage.
What drives the founders
The company was born from the founders’ deep personal passion for the preservation of the most celebrated cars in history. Lorenz holds a life-long love of classics, but he wanted to create cars that combine the beauty of a classic with the dynamics and usability of more technologically advanced, contemporary cars.
It was while waiting for repair at the side of the road that his vision for Lunaz fully formed; to answer these questions of usability, reliability, and sustainability. This was put into sharper focus by the birth of his first child.
“The world is changing; my daughter’s generation will not enjoy the same access to classic cars we have,” said Lorenz. “We are engaged in the preservation of some of the most significant objects in history.”
The company name is a tribute to his daughter Luna.
Lorenz is focused on ensuring that classic cars can be enjoyed by a generation for whom sustainability and relevance will define purchasing decisions.
“The Lunaz solution takes cars that are under threat and gives them new purpose,” said Hilton. “These cars will be true to the original in their aesthetic, peerless in their performance, and effortless in their day-to-day use. To breathe new life into these classics represents vital engineering.”
Hilton started his career engineering powertrains for a Rolls-Royce PLC helicopter world speed record then was Renault F1 Technical Director for the engine of Fernando Alonso’s World Championships. The introduction of Kinetic Recovery Systems (KERS) led him to develop the first-ever hybrid Le Mans entry for Hope Polevision Racing, sparking a passion for potential applications of alternative powertrains beyond sport including a KERS business for OEMs seeking to integrate the technology.
Job creation and growth are also motivators of the company’s leaders.
“In the face of a challenging year that restricts every business’s ability to collaborate globally, we have drawn even more intensely on the extraordinary talent-pool that exists in Silverstone, Britain’s automotive and technology manufacturing heartland,” said Lorenz. “We are proud to fly the flag for our nation’s leadership in cutting-edge zero-emissions technologies and more traditional automotive engineering skills on the global stage.”
Lunaz has enjoyed extraordinary growth in 2020, which the company believes is reflecting shifting global attitudes towards consumption—and response from collectors rebalancing their car collections for a clean-air future. This has led to a doubling in the number of highly skilled jobs at the firm’s manufacturing base and anticipated 2021 demand will lead to a further doubling of the number of skilled engineers, designers, and technicians at an expanded manufacturing base adjacent to the current technical HQ.
“By 2030, when the UK ban on internal-combustion-engine car sales will come into effect, there will be 2 billion ICE vehicles on the planet,” said Lorenz. “Without conversion to electric, this will represent mass redundancy of finite resources that could otherwise be re-used. Our approach answers the urgent need to extend the life of these vehicles for future generations.”
Lunaz says its philosophy is in line with the principles of the “circular economy.” Its mission is to deliver “pinnacle” cars while exhausting significantly fewer resources than goes into the production and lifecycle of a new vehicle. Furthering the legacies of classic cars through electrification will preserve their life and make them a relevant and usable proposition for a new generation.
The rest of the range
The Rover Rover classic is just the latest addition to the Lunaz range meant to satisfy customer demand as they re-balance their car portfolios for a cleaner future. Customer commissions include orders for electrified Jaguar XK120s and XK140s, in both coupé and roadster body styles.
Lunaz’s electric Jaguar XK120 completed an exhaustive process of testing and proving shortly before COVID-19 restrictions were enforced.
That car’s proprietary electric powertrain include an 80-kWh battery pack providing real-world range of more than 250 mi (402 km). A twin-motor setup provides 375 hp (280 kW) and 700 N·m (516 lb·ft) from zero motor speed to propel the car from 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 5 s.
“These are the ultimate everyday classic cars,” said Lorenz in mid-2020. “I’ve driven 2000 mi over the last three weeks in our electric Jaguar XK120 to test the usability and reliability our customers demand. It’s a joy to know that these cars have a bright future under electric power.”
The Jaguar launch was preceded by an electrified version of the rare Bentley Continental S2 Flying Spur with coachwork by H.J Mulliner, with the firm doing a limited production run of all derivatives across the (1955-1965) Bentley Continental family. They will be available in both Coupé and Drophead Coupé body styles for 2021 delivery.
Before the Bentleys were two of the most admired Rolls-Royces, the 1956 Cloud and 1961 Phantom V. The Phantom V represents the first true electric limousine in history, claims the company. Lorenz created the only electric Rolls-Royce “to meet the demands of individuals and leading hospitality establishments who require a sustainable expression of the ‘Best Car in the World.’”
All Rolls-Royce Clouds get the 80-kWh battery packs.
The restoration and electrification process
From its inception in early 2018, Lunaz has looked to hire the best engineering, design, and manufacturing talent to satisfy its clientele. The company’s staff hail from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, Formula 1, Jaguar, Volkswagen, McLaren, and Rolls-Royce.
Every one of its car goes through a full, bare-metal restoration and re-engineering process ahead of conversion to the company’s proprietary electric powertrain. This approach allows the company to answer the questions of usability and reliability that detract from the experience of owning the most celebrated classic cars.
The specifics of the company’s electric propulsion technology—other than output and range—is closely guarded, but it says that each of its classics is designed, developed, engineered, and tested in-house using the highest specification modules available.
The restoration and conversion process represents re-engineering from the ground up, starting with an exhaustive inspection. Each corner weighed to understand the original weight distribution, informing decisions on chassis setup, powertrain packaging, and suspension. The internal combustion engine and associated systems are removed and the chassis is prepared for electrification. The car is 3D scanned, allowing the engineers to create CAD models to ensure technical accuracy of the process.
Traditional coachbuilding and restoration skills are employed and the car is stripped down to a bare metal shell. Small body defects are addressed by hand before the surface finish process begins.
The same approach extends to the interior. The in-house design team makes subtle adaptations to integrate modern conveniences such as satellite telecommunications, WiFi, audiovisual entertainment, and navigation aids.
Electric powertrain components such as battery chargers and DC converters are integrated to impact as little as possible the existing design of the car. For instance, designers use the fuel filler cap for charging and adapt existing dials for the electrical powertrain monitoring.
New electric air conditioning and heating systems are installed and the accelerator is converted to a throttle-by-wire system. Following that is the uprating of braking, suspension, steering, and electronics systems.
