Lunaz turns this electric Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Weddings, bar parties, sometimes car industry parties – I don’t just wear a Suit, there has to be a good reason. Driving and being driven by my faithful chauffeur Jeeves in a three quarter million Bentley is such a reason, especially if it’s not just a Bentley Continental Flying Spur and an HJ Mulliner from 1961. They cost a quarter each and are stuck in the past. Here it is, this is the future.

One of the great things about this whole electric revolution we’re all witnessing is that some old cars are getting new life. Like these. Yes, this amazing ‘asphalt ship’ has undergone a full electric heart transplant. It’s the work of EV restomodders Lunaz Design from Silverstone, who have been shaking things up in the mainstream world for a few years now with their extensive conversions and restorations.

More original books that Lunaz electrifies

Bentley not for you? Then Lunaz also has a big Rolls-Royce Phantom V from the sixties for you, or a Rolls Silver Cloud, or a Jaguar XK120. The latest addition to the range is the first-generation electric Range Rover – yours from around £250,000. The aim is to make short production runs, keeping costs low, but if you still have a blank check lying around somewhere, Lunaz is also happy to make something according to your wishes. And it doesn’t even have to be a British brand – everything is negotiable.

“The goal is always perfection,” says David Lorenz, founder of Lunaz. ‘The singer was a big inspiration for me when I started the company; very attention to detail. But when I met Rob (Dickinson, founder of Singer – editor.), the first advice he gave was not to think about perfection. There is no perfect car – it is better to set a course and stick to it. Perfection is impossible.’ But of course you can always try to get as close as possible.

Here’s how Lunaz converts the regular version into an EV

The process proceeds as follows. Lunaz will give you a donor car, or you, if you have something in your 18-car garage that’s breaking down anyway (this Bentley cost £160,000 before Lunaz even looked at it). Each car is rebuilt from bare metal; First everything is scanned with a 3D laser, then a CAD model is created, the best place for the battery and electronics is determined and imperfections in the chassis are corrected. This is clearly not a case of ‘shoe in the battery, put in an engine from a crashed Tesla and you’re done’ – this is of high quality engineering work.

John Hilton oversees all driving technologies, which are designed and developed by Lunaz itself. He was previously a director at Renault F1 and helped Fernando Alonso win two F1 titles. He and Lorenz met completely by accident – they happened to end up next to each other on a plane when the whole company was still just an idea – after which the latter did everything he could to lure Hilton out of retirement; a gamble that paid off well.

Lunaz recently moved to larger premises and doubled its workforce and design facilities, now capable of building 120 vehicles per year. In addition, there is a chance to develop two new models every year. “I already have cars in my head for the next five years,” Lorenz tells us.

Details of the electric Bentley Continental Flying Spur S1

Back to Bentley. It has two electric motors that provide all wheels with about 350 hp. The 80-kWh battery provides a range of 400 km, fast charging can be done up to 150 kW, the brakes provide energy and there are modern trinkets such as cruise control and traction control. The battery is separated and placed front and rear to improve weight distribution.

Inside, the idea is just as clear: keep the original charm, but subtly integrate all that technology we can’t live without today. When your driver opens the back door for you, you’ll see a USB connection under the chrome button for heating the back seat.

On the face of it, Smith’s beautiful watches look natural, but they show weird things, like battery charge and temperature, and whether you’re using or regenerating energy. There’s an abundance of veneer and heavy-duty sliders and buttons – the cruise control button is so small it’s not visible, nor is the switch to operate the charging port.

But once you sit down, slide your thighs under the big, narrow steering wheel and settle into the leather throne, there’s nothing new or futuristic about it – it’s just a normal drive through and through. The smell, the view on that endless bonnet, is one big trip back in time.

Driving is more fun in an EV

Turn the key, put the steering lever in D and pull away smoothly as if running a hot knife through soft butter. No trouble revving the main engine, no waiting for the fluids to warm up, although strangely it takes a decent amount of time for all the systems to start – that will be resolved when the car is completely finished, they say.

Some adjustments still need to be made here and there, such as the torque curve (can use a bit more when driving). That’s something that can be done on a laptop, which is best for a complete rebuild of an old engine. Moreover, the performance is very adequate.

Who will buy an electric Bentley Continental Flying Spur like this?

But who is the customer for a classic convertible like this Bentley EV, which starts at £350,000 but can go north of that if you go crazy with special paint colors, light bodies and interior furnishings? Well, the future owner of this car happened to be Lunaz unannounced.

She was wearing eccentric shoes, so ‘eccentric’ seems like a good place to start. He is also the owner of one of the largest collections of pre-war cars in the world, so he clearly loves the classics, but he also knows their quirks. He wanted something that he could drive every day, without worries and problems. Something that just does. And very good too.

Lunaz keeps these cars alive

You may find this whole business blasphemous. Not me. These big Bentleys were never about the roar of a big V8 engine, but about a buttery, whisper-smooth glide, and the electric motor fits the bill. Lunaz claims that in this way it ‘protects the legacy of one of the most beautiful cars in the world’. In other words, it does not kill history, but preserves it for future generations. If Lunaz puts these kinds of cool shapes on the road, I’m 100 percent behind them.

Many thanks to Burghley House for providing this photo location