He turned a Ferrari into an electric car

Standing next to a Ferrari, you can hear the deafening engine noise as long as you are not too far away. Commercial real estate agent Eric Hutchison changed this situation and assembled an all-electric and completely silent Ferrari. "If you want an electric Ferrari, you can't have it because it doesn't exist," said Hutchinson, 47. "We have no choice, which is not good. I don't want to drive a Prius."

Hutchinson had a few beers with his neighbors and talked about it, then posted on an online Ferrari forum to see if anyone had done it before, but didn't get much information.

Hutchinson then bought a 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS for $13,000. If someone recycles a car, an "R" is written on the windshield to indicate that the car is operational. "Obviously someone got the 'R' wrong," Hutchinson said. "This car is barely operational."

Now Hutchinson runs a company called Electric GT, based in San Marcos, California, that works with EV West engineers to refurbish luxury cars. The Ferrari GTE project took 18 months, and the team stripped the car down to its components, disassembling nearly every part of the engine. The team sold the excess parts online and shipped them around the world, using the money to complete the project.

Hutchinson, who has worked in commercial real estate for 20 years, used his retirement savings to start the project. After finding that his investment accounts had generated little return over the past 20 years, he decided to take the money out and invest it in projects that might yield better long-term returns.

The team eventually built a red Ferrari that beat gasoline Ferraris in multiple road tests. The electric Ferrari accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds, Hutchinson said, while a similar gasoline Ferrari takes 7.8 seconds. The electric GT team installed new batteries in existing Ferraris, and their goal is to get the car to achieve the same acceleration in less than 5 seconds.

"You get a beautiful classic car and it has twice the horsepower and torque of the old car," Hutchinson said. "It's crazy."

Who wants a quiet Ferrari?

Even if performance is equal or better, Hutchinson said most classic car enthusiasts wouldn't be keen on the idea of ​​an electric Ferrari. He said the community is largely made up of gas-powered car enthusiasts.

Even Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne is no exception. In 2016, Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show that the concept of building a Ferrari without an internal combustion engine was abhorrent, and that it was impossible for Ferrari to develop a self-driving car. "Kill me first," Marchionne said.

As more and more consumers accept electric vehicles, other companies in the automotive industry have followed suit. Mazda, Nissan, Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, and Toyota have all entered the electric vehicle market. Hutchinson said: "People are participating in the discussion of electricity and gasoline, and the gasoline car industry is evolving. People are pushing the industry forward, which is a great thing."

In Hutchinson's view, annual cost is a major reason why cars are moving toward electrification. A new Ferrari requires $6,000 in annual service fees and $800 in gas. The maintenance costs of the electric GTE are mainly spent on tires, which are replaced every five or six years. Hutchinson said: "I like the idea of ​​driving a classic car every day, and I would be happy if the maintenance costs were not high."

Hutchinson sees his project as similar to Tesla's: getting the public to go electric. Both companies are serious about performance. "You've seen Tesla cars on the road compared to Ferrari cars and other cars, and once you actually drive it, you'll find it's powerful," Hutchinson said.

Going global

Currently, Hutchinson's business model is basically based on a commission model. The team is refurbishing a Fiat car, which will be shipped to Seattle. In the future, Hutchinson said the team will refurbish 5 to 10 cars a year, and most of the demand comes from China.

Hutchinson sees China as an opportunity, as the country's second-largest economy, with a swelling market for traditional cars and a shift toward electric vehicles as emissions standards become stricter.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.