TUNNING

Land Rover Defender 90 appears electrified thanks to the beautiful work of Twisted

At the moment Land Rover does not have any electric cars in its lineup, although there are different reports that speak of the upcoming presentation of the Range Rover Sport with an electric motor. While this is happening, many are circling around to get their electric Land Rover, although in general, the one chosen for the transformation is the 'old' Defender, with which you can develop very interesting things.

On this occasion, it is the work of Twisted, a Land Rovers specialist based in Thirsk, Yorkshire (UK), who designed an electric powertrain for the 90, 110 and 130 versions of the Land Rover Defender. Now, their prices aren't exactly cheap, as the smallest, the Defender 90 EV, has an exit price of £225,000.

When converting a car from a combustion engine to an electric one, things are sometimes not easy. It is necessary to dismantle the engine, transmission and fuel tank and put in their place the entire new electrical system, the batteries, the engine (or engines) and the entire management system of these engines, which is not exactly simple.

Twisted seems to have gotten around these complications easily. For example, the batteries are placed under the front hood and between the chassis rails (remember, the Defender has a frame of spars and crossmembers). There are two battery capacities, 61 kWh and 81 kWh. The first is mounted on the Denfender 90 and offers 225 kilometers of autonomy, while the second is for the 110 and 130, with almost 290 kilometers of autonomy. They can charge up to 22 kW, are water resistant to a depth of 900 millimeters and have a liquid cooling and heating system.

It does not mention how many engines it has, but it advertises 268 hp and 1,200 Nm of torque. There are two driving modes: Eco and Sport, and it also maintains full traction and reduced transfer case.

Twisted claims that it takes around two weeks to convert each car and has a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty. It is an internationally traded vehicle, and they claim that US customers already have cars built.

“The all-electric Twisted was a labor of love for the entire team, with thousands of hours invested in its development,” said Twisted founder Charles Fawcett. With approximately 70% of all Defender and Series Land Rovers built still on the road, it is one of the most recyclable vehicles on the market, and Twisted has now further prepared this British icon for the future.”

Autonews