Zero Labs needs just 24 hours to turn your rusty, old truck into an EV
The California-based EV company has lofty dreams of using its new platform to convert droves classic vehicles.
Electric vehicles promise to revolutionize transit (and the pollution it creates) as we know it. But what about the hordes of gas-guzzling EV predecessors that are already on the road?
Mercedes-Benz EQS
Zero Labs thinks they have a fix for that...
And a relatively quick one at that.
In a new video, Zero Labs, an automotive company based out of Hawthorne, California, shows how its new platform, called “Retrobution,” can convert a rusted-out, 50-year-old Ford Bronco into an electric vehicle in just one day’s worth of work.
3+ months
Typical EV conversions can take three months or sometimes more.
Zero labs says the renovated truck with its proprietary platform now has:
- A computer-controlled independent front and rear suspension
- 600HP using a dual motor configuration
- 200+ miles on a single charge.
While this isn’t the first time Zero Labs has shown off its conversion capabilities (see: this Bronco geting an EV treatment from last year), it’s another feather in Zero’s cap and proof that its mission to convert older cars could work.
It’s worth noting, however, that the conversion isn’t quite as comprehensive as prior demonstrations. For instance, last year’s Bronco revamp included a complete body and interior re-work. Realistically, a full EV conversion will take a bit longer.
30 days
Zero Labs estimates a full renovation would take about a month.
According to Zero Labs, the company will have a platform for all types of classic vehicles, including one geared toward muscle cars, two-door coupes, SUVs, and classic pickups. Those will also come with different options for specs like range and horsepower.
235+ miles
Zero Labs says it can configure your EV to go for 235 miles on a single charge (or more).
According to Zero Labs, the Retrobution platform is more than just a nifty way of appeasing classic car hobbyists. In its newest video, the company positions the platform as a more eco-friendly means of achieving EV ubiquity.
Converting older cars into EVs would mitigate the need for new materials, decrease the production footprint of automakers, and help remove traditional combustion engines from the road — all three of which wold help move the world toward zero emissions.
Of course, Zero Labs has a little ways to go before they completely revolutionze classic cars, but we’ll at least get to see the idea in practice starting this year.
Fall 2021
Zero Labs' platform will come before the end of the year.