This Electric Ferrari Is Even Faster Than The Original 308

Californian maverick Eric Hutchinson transformed a vintage 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS into the world’s first electric Ferrari 308 GTS. Even more shockingly, this electric version is faster than the original.

More than two years ago, Hutchinson stumbled upon the sports car in a junkyard. In his words, it didn’t quite give off the vintage Ferrari vibe: “It had been burned up in a fuel fire, gasoline leaked on the motor. It smelled, all the rubber was melted, there was broken glass. It was frankly a mess.”

But the sight of the broken down Ferrari did give him an idea: What if he could turn this run down Ferrari into an electric vehicle (EV)?

Hutchinson worked thousands of hours to restore and modernize the car at Electric GT before testing it out on the roads. Shiny and looking brand new, the Ferrari 308 EV was put to the ultimate speed test, racing against a standard 308 model.

“We had a professional driver drive both cars in a timed environment on the same track — about a mile and a half — and the professional driver did that lap in 1:26 with a gas Ferrari,” Hutchinson told CNN. 

Surprisingly, the restored Ferrari finished the track 10 seconds faster. Three batteries helped it along the way and the race results convinced Drew Gill to purchase it for $77,000.

He bought it in an auction from Hutchinson and doesn’t regret it one bit: “It’s fast, it’s way better than any other electric car that you’re going to drive on the market today, and it’s a Ferrari. What else do you want out of a car?”