Old Land Rovers never die, nor do they even fade away. Sometimes they become electrified.
The British Army is about to begin a project to modify a quartet of in-service military Land Rovers, and to convert them from diesel to electric power.
The conversions are to be done by UK defense contractor Babcock International in partnership with EV experts Electrogenic under a one-year contract granted by the British Ministry of Defense. Then the army “will assess performance over steep terrain, wading and towing, and different climate-related conditions,” according to Babcock.
The processes involved in EV conversions include dropping out the old diesel engines and fitting new, as-yet-unspecified electric powertrains before the cars are pitted against their old-school brethren.
The British Army purchased its first batch of Land Rovers in 1949 to be used for rugged, off-road purposes, much in the way that the Jeep served the military for the United States. Most army Land Rovers have been retired, but clearly some are still in service, and there is also a thriving business in Britain to sell restored examples.
