VUE

At the onset of their electrified journey, the two procured a domestic EV conversion kit, which, according to Singh, simply didn't pass muster. "Bobby said, 'ere's no way I'm putting this in the car,'" Wagenheim explains. So, the search continued. "We scoured the world for the proper OEM look for the car and decided on Fellten," says Wagenheim. "ey are ISO 9001, they do everything right, and they've got a partnership with BMW." Based in Bristol, UK, Fellten supplies Recharge Heritage with their EV conversions on classic Mini Coopers as part of BMW's Classic Mini Recharged project. e company continues to work with Sacrilege Motors on exclusive cutting-edge electric powertrain development projects. Singh and Wagenheim are well aware of their critics; that's why it's in the name of their company, Sacrilege Motors. "It's like, okay, let's get this out of the way," says Singh, "so we can move on and talk about the car." e vision of Sacrilege is that EV conversion creates a near-bulletproof electric daily driver out of an air-cooled classic. While indisputably legendary in its own right, these retro gems require an unyielding 5-year maintenance schedule, which has le many sitting forever behind garage doors. "Everyone says, 'you're taking the soul out of the car,'" explains Wagenheim, who argues that "the familiarity and the drivability of the car is the soul of the car." e BlackBird maintains the original iconic "turbo style" body but has near-unseen upgrades necessary to support the 500hp motor, about twice the stock horsepower for this 911 rolling off the factory line in 1992. "e whole vision, the whole project was to look OEM," says Singh, "nothing flashy. ere are no holes, we didn't cut anything, we didn't mod' the chassis." Aer four months of research, fieen different coil setups, and testing with Penske, the team selected two-way inverted custom Penske race shocks in front and three-way adjustable remote-reservoir custom Penske race shocks in the rear. All around, Brembo performance brakes with slotted rotors provide enhanced braking. e car's two batteries were carefully arranged in the front and rear to maintain four corner balance and preserve the 911's iconic road feel. Aside from a cleverly disguised OEM- looking Magsafe inductive phone charger in the car's center console, the propensity to run modification-happy, as a principle, VUE ON | LIFESTYLE 42 VUENJ.COM

• Cover