You only live twice: classic Aston Martins reborn as electric cars
British firm Lunaz has future-proofed the Aston Martin DB6 with an electric powertrain. The ‘reimagined’ classic comes with a 80-120kWh battery, CCS fast-charging capability and a 255-mile range.
Orders are open now, with first deliveries expected in 2023. However, it isn’t cheap: expect to pay upwards of £900,000.
Lunaz employs around 100 engineers and craftspeople at Silverstone Technology Park in Northamptonshire. One of its founders, Jon Hilton, was the former technical lead at Renault F1, winning successive world championships with Fernando Alonso. The company also has several high-profile investors, such as David Beckham.
Best of British
Thus far, Lunaz has focused on electrifying homegrown icons, including the Range Rover Classic, original Bentley Continental, Jaguar XK120 and Rolls-Royce Phantom V. The new Aston Martin DB6 is said to ‘complete the line-up of British pinnacle marques’.
The conversion process starts with a bare-metal restoration. The internal combustion engine – in this case, a 4.0-litre straight-six – is removed and stored, in case a buyer ever wants to return their car to standard spec.
Lunaz then installs batteries, inverters and electric motors from an undisclosed ‘European tier 1’ supplier.
The grand tour
No performance figures are quoted, but Lunaz promises ‘brisk initial acceleration’ with the ‘instant torque and silent delivery of an electric powertrain’.
Combined with uprated steering, brakes and suspension, the DB6 should be a fast and comfortable grand tourer – just as Aston Martin intended.
Of course, James Bond actually drove a DB5, and Lunaz offers a similar package for this earlier model and the 1958-1963 DB4. Pop-out machine guns and revolving number plates are off the menu, sadly, but almost every aspect of the car can be personalised.
Form an orderly Q
Lunaz design director Jen Holloway used to head up Aston Martin’s bespoke (and brilliantly named) Q-Branch, and draws upon the worlds of furniture making and couture fashion.
Options that may chime with EV evangelists include leather-free upholstery and woven carpets made from recycled fishing nets. The rest of us can enjoy air-con, infotainment and wi-fi connectivity.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research