600-hp Zero Labs Land Rover Takes Aim at Tesla Cybertruck
From the outside it may look like just another resto ‘Rover but beneath the skin Zero Labs’ Series 109 packs the latest in EV technology.
The California company has form in making the switch from oil to electrons having previously developed EV-swapped Ford Broncos, F-250s and Land Rover Defender 110s.
This latest vehicle is “a revolution in classic electrification,” says Zero Labs, “A remastered, handcrafted masterpiece that seamlessly blends the past with the future,” adds Founder Adam Roe.
Backing up these bold claims are some 4000 unique design upgrades across the vehicle that turn the old Landie into an “Anti-Cyber Truck.” Chief among these is the powertrain, with its flat battery pack squeezed into the separate chassis, driving two electric motors that deliver a combined 600 horsepower and a range of over 250 miles. There’s Level 3 DC fast charging (although whether you can use a Tesla Supercharger isn’t clear) and a one-pedal driving feature as well.
Further upgrading the driving experience are a suspension system with adjustable ride height, auto-sensing power steering, modern heating and air conditioning and a roomier cabin, achieved by a redesigned flat floor for the cabin.
Zero Labs has, wisely, resisted the temptation to fully take the Land Rover’s interior into the 21st Century and, instead of a proliferation of touch screens, there are analog-style gauges that have been repurposed to suit EV needs. Detailed information and diagnostics can be accessed by a hidden screen or mobile app.
Fresh from winning an awards for best SUV at the Electrify Expo, Zero Labs is set to build just 25 examples, with first dibs going to the company’s existing customers and investors.
“Our focus remains on preserving and reimagining automotive history,” says Roe. “This is the future of our past.”
I love to see these conversions and how they take an older vehicle and quickly bring it up to new technology. This helps bring the nostalgia back with a reliable drive train. My concern always is when you outfit a vehicle with 600 hp that originally had 75hp. In the hands of a complete idiot this thing will not handle well and in an accident will kill the occupant’s. If you were to make it using a fraction of that HP to bump it up from original specs rather than 600hp. That would extend the range and the vehicles power upgrade would still be 100% improvement. But then again ludicrous speed in a aluminum farm wagon would be fun in a straight line.
They are both “interesting” to look at. One for the same reason we gawk at a freeway crash and the other for the same reason we just have to have ugly dog contests. However, even an ugly dog will grow on you if you give it some love.