This £28,800 kit turns your old Land Rover Defender into an EV

A company in Oxfordshire has revealed a new conversion kit that transforms your old Land Rover Defender into… an old, electric Land Rover Defender.

Electrogenic, purveyors of electrified drivetrains for much-loved classics - including a Citroen DS - has announced a new ‘drop-in’ kit for the Defender aimed specifically at farmers and the agricultural sector.

The kit involves “simply” bolting on an electric motor to the Defender’s original clutch bell housing, and thus keeping the car’s gears. The motor itself is powered by 52kWh worth of batteries mounted under the bonnet, allowing 120bhp and 173lb ft of torque.

Electrogenic reckons on over 100 miles of range, or “considerably more when driving off-road or around a farm”, and the battery is set up for 7.5kW AC overnight charging. Fast-charging is an optional extra.

We’re told the kit – tested on Worthy Farm, home to the Glastonbury Festival, over the past 18 months – allows for better towing capacity thanks to electricity’s instant torque. There’s dual-stage regenerative braking, too.

“We do high-specification conversions for road-warriors,” said Electrogenic co-founder Steve Drummond, “but this kit is all about giving landowners an economic, sustainable option.

“It gives Land Rover Defenders – long a trusty workhorse for farms up and down the country – an affordable new lease of life, reducing running costs while enhancing performance and driveability around the estate,” he added.

Electrogenic reckons this EV conversion saves “at least” £6k a year in fuel costs over the course of an average year of farm-running. And the company said the powertrain is “entirely maintenance free”, with a battery “good for 200,000 miles or more”.