This Electric Porsche 964 RSR Misses The Point

There’s no shortage of Porsche 911 restomods these days. There’s a version for every taste, whether you want something perfected by Singer, something a bit more wild by Guntherwerks, or something that revs to 11,000 by Tuthill. Then there’s Everrati, the British company that’s done some pretty clever work in converting 911s to full electric cars. Their latest, a tribute to the 3.8 liter 964 RS, though, is a bit of a conundrum.

Before we get into why, perhaps a bit of an explanation of what Everrati does is warranted. The company rips out the heart of the 911, the flat-six, and replaces it with two electric motors behind the rear axle. It then loads the car up with batteries, but in order to maintain weight distribution it splits the batteries between the front and rear. They’re proud of being able to keep that the same to hopefully continue to give the 911 the same unique character its had since it debuted 60 years ago.

By all accounts, they are fun to drive and cost little to run, a zero-emission way to continue having a car that looks like an old 911 in a future when the combustion engine isn’t dead. This particular model, though, is where things start to make less sense.

This flash of yellow is inspired by the 3.8 liter 964 RSR, one of the most raw 911s of that era, a true motorsport-inspired car with a widebody, big wing, and 325 hp that ran through a five-speed manual. Think of it like a race car for the road. They fetch big bucks now, too, with one selling in 2022 for $1.2 million.

Now, Everrati’s version is likely better built than the original. It’s better for the environment, too. It even gets to 60 in 3.7 seconds, about a second quicker than the original. I find it very hard to care.

The thing with a car like the RSR now is that it doesn’t matter how well it’s built, how good it is for the environment, or how quick it is. What matters is what it represents, a throwback to a time when cars were all about deep mechanical involvement. It’s the thing that resonated with me after driving the new 911 S/T, and how every little bit of the mechanical experience connected with the driver. The RSR was an equally raw experience 30 years ago, a car that demanded your attention at all times and had an engine that spoke to every sense. Take away the engine and replace it with batteries and motors, and while the 911 S/T would probably still be great to drive, it’d no longer be the 911 S/T. It’d be a fun EV sports car.

Here, we have a body kit on an old 911 and its heart ripped out, gearbox and all. The engagement that came from the drivetrain is dead, and you’re left with a car that looks like the coolest 911 on the block and might even be fun to drive, but you’re missing one of the most important elements of the original.

That’s not to say EV conversions are bad things. On the contrary, for certain cars they make all the sense in the world. There are luxury cars from decades ago that would be better powered by electricity and some small sports cars could harness an EV powertrain in an interesting way. EV swaps have also certainly saved older cars that had blown engines and given them a second chance at life. 

And while the base for this car may have given a scrap 964 a chance to live again, it’s also gotten the body of a true legend, a car famous for how raw and uncompromising it is. Except its lost the component that not only gives it part of its name, but much of its character. I tend to judge owners who put badges on their cars that they don’t deserve – here’s looking at you guy with a 528i that says M5 on the back – and this 964 Carrera RS without an engine sure is one of them.

If you think I’m full of crap and that you want to buy one, be my guest. But if you buy an EV converted 911 with an RSR bodykit, prepare to do a lot of explaining, and be prepared to not sound cool at all while you do it.

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