Jalopnik Drives Electric Classic 308 w Manual Gearbox - Electric GT

Jalopnik Drives Electric Classic 308 w Manual Gearbox

Manual gearbox in an Electrified 308?

Electric Ferrari Manual Gearbox

Senior Review Editor for Jalopnik: Andrew Collins: On driving EV with a manual gearbox

“Driving a 1978 Ferrari 308 with zero engine noise was weird. Using a regular three-pedal five-speed manual-gearbox connected to an electric motor was even odder. But Electric GT’s EV-swapped Ferrari has a distinctive driving experience that, once you wrap your brain around it, is uniquely satisfying”. See article here. Awesome photos from Bill Caswell.

The build was long enough and complex enough to span a 23-page FerrariChatforum thread and an entire video series you can check out on YouTube. But basically, the powertrain was completely removed to make way for a cluster of batteries and the triple motor package. And since nobody’s ever done that, just about every part had to be custom-rigged for fitment.

 The car still looks like a Ferrari. Every part your hand touches feel like it belongs to a Ferrari, especially the heavy unassisted steering. But the car’s signature engine burble has been replaced with the smooth sound of a wedge cutting through wind.

And the car surges from a stop like no Malaise Era exotic you’ve ever seen.

This car does have a “regular” manual transmission with a clutch, three pedals, and a shifter you row to change the car’s gear ratio. But you don’t use it like a exactly like a shifter in a standard gas or diesel car.

 Since it is electric, it doesn’t need gears, because its motors provide adequate power at all RPMs and therefore, could operate with a single gear ratio. That’s how “traditional” electric cars are set up, after all.

The Ferrari (or any EV) also doesn’t stall, so there’s no need to put the clutch in at stops. There’s really little need to use the clutch at all, except when upshifting, and even then it’s more like a “button” than the transitional control you would be used to.

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