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Florida-based automaker E.C.D. Automotive Design Inc. has been in the business of restoring and building custom classic Land Rovers since 2013. From operating in what was essentially a gutted-out office building to now utilizing a 100,000-square-foot production facility with three assembly lines, E.C.D. says it now pushes out 100 vehicles a year.
But E.C.D’s co-founder Scott Wallace attributes the firm’s growth to three rules. “We wanted to do everything in-house, we wanted to do one-of-one vehicle build customizations, and the third thing was {to do} something that we all enjoyed and would excite us,” Wallace told InsideEVs. Based on those principles, the Florida automaker wanted to shift resources toward another vehicle. “So the E-Type was a no-brainer.”
Wallace said he and his team had been thinking about working on E-Types for years but finally decided to do so when migrating into the new factory. Adding the E-Type diversifies E.C.D.’s lineup by being the company’s first sports car. E.C.D. offers the E-Type in its original coupe and convertible guise, both starting at $289,995.
Both versions will have upgraded braking, suspension, interior upholstery, and, most importantly, a vastly improved powertrain. E.C.D. offers buyers two primary options: a 450-horsepower LT1 engine and a Tesla powertrain that packs the same power figure.
The latter Tesla-powered configuration consists of repackaged Tesla battery cells and drive units. “We’ve taken the engine out of the {E-Type}, and we’ve done the scan of the body in 3D, and then we redesigned the battery packs to fit in a slightly different way,” Wallace said. Despite repackaging a battery pack to fit in a vehicle made years before modern electric cars became mainstream, Wallace says that the E-Type’s unique proportions allow for a lot of space to correct the battery placements.
“But the benefit of the E-Type is that it’s got a huge bonnet— the hood is immense. You’ve got a lot of room to play with there, and for the electrics particularly, you’re removing more than you’re adding, and you’ve also got the fuel tank which will never be there in the electric {version},” Wallace told InsideEVs.
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While the British 2-doors will feature all-new powertrains, above all, E.C.D. doesn’t want its renditions to grow too disparate from their roots. “{The E-Types are} not going to have a lot of the modern conveniences that we put in the Defenders. Right now, the clients interested in the E-Type are very much about keeping it in its original look and retaining that character of the vehicle,” Wallace said.
“Our intention is always to maintain as much of the characteristics of the car as you can.”
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