The legendary Cadillac of the 60s that has embraced electric mobility

Electromobility is significantly changing the way vehicles are designed with the aim of achieving a reduction in emissions generated by the transportation of people.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
20 January 2024 Saturday 10:26
12 Reads
The legendary Cadillac of the 60s that has embraced electric mobility

Electromobility is significantly changing the way vehicles are designed with the aim of achieving a reduction in emissions generated by the transportation of people. But, beyond the new models, another business avenue has been opened in this area, which is the fact of recovering classic vehicles and making them compatible with new trends by converting them into electric ones.

Various companies have already embarked on this goal, changing conventional propulsion systems with combustion engines for electric ones in classic cars from brands such as Jaguar or Aston Martin, among others. But these transformations are not only taking place in Europe, but also on the other side of the pond, with authentic American legends on wheels involved.

One of those American treasures is the 1966 Cadillac DeVille that you can see in the photographs, which has begun a new life without emissions. This has been possible thanks to the specialists at Legacy EV, a company based in Arizona that is dedicated to offering aftermarket solutions for electric vehicles.

In 1966, the third generation of this particular model began. At that time, the different versions of the DeVille integrated powerful gasoline propulsion systems under the hood. However, in the case of the vehicle that is the subject of this article, that mechanical philosophy is now history due to its replacement by a set made up of three electric motors and a battery that powers them.

A priori, there is a significant imbalance between the autonomy offered by the battery and the level of performance of the motors. And this battery allows a range of only 160 km, although the three electric motors provide a combined power close to 400 HP and a spectacular maximum torque that exceeds 1,300 Nm.

In short, this is a very high performance performance for such a humble autonomy, but this decision has a very specific explanation. And this electric DeVille has not been developed to be driven daily, but rather as a promotional vehicle to show what the Legacy EV specialists are capable of with a car from more than half a century ago.

Beyond the propulsion, although most of the initial characteristics of the Cadillac have been maintained, it is worth noting that some new features have been introduced. These include the installation of a pneumatic suspension system, specific 20-inch wheels associated with whitewall tires and headlights with LED technology.

On a visual level, we must highlight the great contrast that is achieved thanks to a practically entirely red interior and the white exterior tone. If you are interested in appreciating this attractive American car in greater detail, you can take a look at the video that accompanies this article.