Electric Bugeye

Smooth movers

February 28, 2025 by bugeyeguy

We’ve been hard at work building exceptional new electric vehicles. At the moment, we have a 1960 Bugeye and a 1974 Midget both undergoing conversion, and you can see a few progress photos here, as these cars come together.

This Bugeye is from Iowa, where owner Bruce rescued the car from the crusher. It was a heavily modified car that probably had a V-8 engine in it most recently, and was then abandoned. We completely restored the transmission tunnel and brought back all its original strength while fixing a multitude of other issues. Now, we have a wonderfully sound chassis that we’ve loaded up with electrical componentry and a new dashboard to give this car a new lease on life. Bruce will paint the car later in Iowa… our job is to make a great electric driver.

*We had to graft in an entire tunnel section in Bruce’s Bugeye floor, as it was completely missing. We also restored his dashboard to a more factory look.*

For all those who are opposed to EV conversions, please keep in mind that this Bugeye never would’ve come back from the dead if Bruce hadn’t rescued it for this purpose.

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Why would anyone want an electric classic car?

November 15, 2024 by bugeyeguy

I have been driving two Bugeyes in my spare time this Fall, 501 (first production Bugeye, completely stock, correct and Concours Gold) and E3 (our third electric FrogE). These cars could not be more opposite. Although we live in a world where seemingly everyone has to choose sides, I will tell you that both of these cars are amazingly wonderful and equally special. (I say this because people love or hate electrics conversions and I invite any haters to have an open mind).

*501, the first production Bugeye Sprite.*

Our FrogE is special. She’s super smooth and has fewer moving parts so reliability is enhanced. It has a range of about 115-125 miles depending on how you drive it, and thus a full charge takes about four hours to consume with average two-lane driving. I have found that four hours is perfect for any small classic sports car-most customers drive for about 30 minutes in their Bugeye on average, so four hours between charges is quite practical. You’ll need to install a charger at your house… I did this for $500 after a rebate from the local power company… and now I can charge every night if I like.

*501’s engine compartment, representing a Concours-accurate Bugeye engine bay from 1958.*

*E3’s “engine” compartment, containing most of the componentry required to electrify a Bugeye.*

Check out the video below in which I explain how all the dials work. We are converting two more Sprites this fall; if you have a Spridget that needs a power plant, these electric drivetrains are fast and reliable. Call if you would like your car converted to electric power!

Electric Bugeye at 80 MPH-VIDEO

December 15, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Here’s our latest FrogE trip on Interstate 95. It’s a joy to drive this car- fast and smooth. We fit a new blue stay fast top on the car this week, and it’s nice and toasty inside with the electric heater that requires no warm-up… the cabin heat is instant!

Watch the video below to see twilight cruising at speed:

I’m excited that the car should meet or exceed our 100 mile range projection. I drove the car mostly on the highway this week, and that’s where electric consumption is the highest because of aerodynamic drag. Yet the range is looking good, in spite of some long highway stints, the car still shows about half charged after about 75 miles, so we have more to go!

Check out the walk-around tour below and call if you want us to convert your Spridget to electric power!

Our fastest Bugeye ever is for sale!

November 10, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Ever since we got into building and selling classic cars about 17 years ago, we’ve been trying to build the most reliable Bugeye on the planet to provide a headache-free experience for our customers. This electric FrogE is the closest we’ve come to delivering on that commitment. I am well aware there are some people out there who are really resistant to electric classic cars in terms of removing what they see as the soul of the car and replacing it with electric components. For those people, we still have many gas-powered options. But for anyone looking for practicality, reliability and ease of operation, this configuration is worth a serious look. While there is no exhaust note, it’s so fast and smooth that the extra power is an attractive trade-off for many customers. You can have super speed with electric or super sound with ICE. It’s your choice. Regardless, the FrogE gives us one more platform to offer new customers and if it breaks down any barriers to entry, we’re all for it. This is one more way to keep these cars alive for generations.

This particular car is the fastest Sprite we’ve ever built with a 0 to 60 time of 7.29 seconds, which is at least 30% faster than our previously quickest Sprite (which was gas powered). That’s fast.

We’ve completely restored this Sprite from the ground-up and then added the electric components which include five Tesla batteries from a low mileage Model S (that was totaled). These batteries give us 32 kw of capacity which is good for about 95 miles of range if you use the car in a spirited manner (as I have been). If you are conservative on the accelerator, you can probably get more than 100 miles of range. Temperature matters too… if you’re in a temperate zone you’ll get more range than we’re getting right now in 40° fall weather in New England.

This car is a dream to drive. It has no bad habits and no issues- it just goes (and will continue to go) for a lot more miles than any gas-powered classic car engine will ever go. You will have to maintain the lever shocks (although we have a tube shock conversion that might help expand the longevity), and there are still rear wheel cylinders to wear out eventually (we do have a rear disc brake upgrade that would increase the lifespan of the rear brakes as well) so there is a little bit of maintenance. You’ll need new tires at some point (they’re brand new now, but they’ll eventually age out) but other than that, the motor is bulletproof, so is most everything else!

These batteries should degrade no more than 10% after 10 years and we made the system modular so that in 50 years the batteries can be removed and upgraded or replaced. Other than that, you’ve got an amazing reliable and consistent platform. All you have to do is charge it and we’ve made that easy as well with the flip-up fuel cap on the rear deck.

Is this the future of classic cars? Time will tell, but in the meantime, we’ve got a really impressive way to live with a Bugeye. You can drive it with one pedal. The regenerative braking is impressive and all you have to do is regulate how much you back off as you decelerate for a stop sign to increase or decrease the regenerative braking and alter your rate of deceleration. It’s a lot of fun! You don’t need the brake pedal often and that will also increase the lifespan of the brake system.

I’ve become quite a convert; I spend my days driving gas-powered bugeyes and other classic cars, but there’s something very refreshing about this electric platform because it feels very low stress and peaceful, especially the traffic lights where there’s no fumes and no oil spots on the ground and no vibration and no carburetors to manage there’s just a deep well of torque anytime you want.

If you’re interested please give a call. We are selling E3 and we will also be happy to do a conversion of your classic British car to make it electric powered as well. People ask me for kits all the time and unless you are a highly qualified builder, I don’t recommend a kit… it’s very difficult to make these work, and we’re lucky to have the experience to be able to do that for you. Rather than purchase a kit, I’d encourage you to send your classic to us and we will do the conversion here and leverage our experience to get the job done promptly and safely!

Click “read more” below for a full compliment of pictures and give us a call if you’re interested!

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Our best performing Bugeye to date!

November 3, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Our third electric FrogE conversion (E3) is now complete, and I was delighted to lay down the fastest 0-60 time I have ever recorded in a Sprite, 7.29 seconds (measured by our GPS speedometer’s 0-60 recording feature).

For context, the original 948 powered Bugeye reached 60 in about 20.5 seconds.

Our fastest perviously timed 1275 powered Sprite, with performance mods, reached 60 in about 10 seconds. Per published road test data, a 1969 Lotus Elan reaches 60 in about 7.2 seconds, and that’s with the stock twin cam 1600 engine and dual Webers. A 1969 Porsche 911S reaches 60 in somewhere between 6.5 and 8 seconds (depending on which test data you believe). But the numbers are almost irrelevant… what matters is that this car performs like a very respectful sportscar that can suddenly be mentioned in the same sentence as these supercars of the day. We’ve entered a whole new universe with this conversion, different from anything and everything that we’ve known in the Bugosphere up to this point.

I have driven more than 500 sprites. This car has the most impressive performance of any of them. There’s enough power to spin the rear wheels in ways never before possible in any of the gas-powered Sprites I have known and driven through the last 17 years. And the car still retrains delightful balance and handling, just like the original.

I have never driven a V8 Sprite and I suppose that power plant is extremely quick in a Sprite too, but I haven’t pursued V8 conversions because I fear they upset the delightful weight balance, change the handling, and change the steering input required given a more front heavy front end bias.

In our electric FrogE, balance is right and steering is light.

This is a game changer.

Regardless of how you feel about electric conversions, there’s so much performance in this package that you have to at least consider this new option. We’ve built a classic car that will never have a leaking rear main seal, piston-wall scoring or leaking valve guides. These electric motors are bulletproof and will run far longer than even a brand new rebuilt 1275 Engine. There is no transmission to fail, no synchros to wear out, no tachometer-drive to bind or rattle.

No matter how much you miss the exhaust note, it’s easy to fall in love with the torque and overall performance of a FrogE. I found myself distracted relearning how to drive this car with so much extra power, and for me, that focus distracted me from any regret for the missing exhaust note. In other words, it’s easy to be distracted because this car is that much fun!

This one might be for sale… call to discuss. Or, we would love to build another one just for you!

Call or email if you are interested!

The future of electric sports cars

September 8, 2023 by bugeyeguy

It’s not hard for me to imagine a time when people are intrigued by our classic car hobby but are thwarted because they grew up on (and demand) electric vehicles. Those of us in prior generations may struggle to understand, but automotive expectations are changing fast, and we are proud to be on the cutting edge of what I believe will be inevitable. Whether you love or hate electric cars, at some point, gas powered cars may be a liability. I’m sure they will always exist, but we want to make sure our little car survives, regardless of what powers her. If electric power keeps people interested in classic British sports cars, then we are very interested.

I know a lot of people out there are kicking and screaming about this possible transformation and maybe I’m wrong… perhaps gas cars will continue to be a big part of our lives, but given the number of new electric vehicles coming down the pike and the massive marketing investment major auto brands are making, I don’t think anyone has much of a choice. EVs are going to be a big part of the rest of our lives. Let’s all watch the next Super Bowl together to see if I am right… I’ll bet we will see many commercials that relate to what I think is an inevitable EV future.

Thus, I am proud to share our new electric frogE, our attempt to help classic car folks get excited the forthcoming transition.

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