Eco-supercars: All-electric Lambos and G-Wagens head for the UAE

For British luxury car engineers restoring iconic models with green, all-electric engines, the Middle East is an obvious market. "There's a lot of car people, and certainly from what I'm seeing, a lot more interest in electric vehicles," says Justin Lunny, the founder of electric motor company Everrati. A client in the UAE recently placed an order for the world's first all-electric Lamborghini LM002, a hulking all-terrainer known as the Rambo Lambo . Everrati has a tie-up with a Dubai car maker, W Motors, in which electric engines designed in Britain power UAE-made supercars . And a new luxury line, set to be unveiled at next week's Pebble Beach car show in the US , is a riff on a Middle East favourite, the G-Wagen. The Mercedes off-roader is a familiar sight on UAE roads, with its drivers including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid , Vice President and Ruler of Dubai . First produced in 1979, the first designs were reputedly for a military vehicle proposed by the Shah of Iran , before it entered the luxury market instead. Everrati plans to bring its method of restoring classic vehicles and replacing their engines to the G-Wagen, in a team-up with a British-Austrian company, Arcade Cars. Known as Sojourn, the all-electric version is envisaged as a four or six-seater with a classic G-Wagen shape and soft top, drawing on designs for an electric Land Rover. "The G-Wagen is such a vehicle synonymous with Dubai in the modern age, and Abu Dhabi. I think it would be quite a cool vehicle for the local market," Mr Lunny told The National . "We see the UAE as a really interesting hub." Car enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia have expressed interest in battery-powered luxury too, as the region turns to electric cars for sustainability. Electric cars could make up 15 per cent of car sales in the UAE by 2030, and a quarter by 2035, according to a recent forecast by PwC. Adnoc Distribution, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi energy company Adnoc, plans to more than double its network of charging points in the UAE by the end of this year. Globally, a "rapid deployment" of zero-emission cars is one of the goals the world was set at last year's Cop28 climate summit in the UAE. Mr Lunny expects demand from discerning drivers who want to refit a classic in the way they might tailor a fashion item or remodel a yacht. He said most of Everrati's clients are not just wealthy but "do actually have a care for climate change, sustainability". "Anybody with money can have a new [Rolls-Royce] Cullinan or whatever it might be. Building one of our cars takes a bit of thought," he said. One customer is Matt Rogers, a former Apple engineer who developed smart thermostat Nest and ordered an electric version of a 964-generation Porsche 911. Off-the-shelf Porsche-inspired models typically cost £290,000 ($369,000), with one edition painted in an orange and blue Gulf racing car livery. A second US client is motorsports enthusiast Steve Rimmer, who will unveil his new electric Porsche 911 RSR replica, resembling a racing car, at Pebble Beach. The car has a range of more than 320km and accelerates from 0 to 96 kph in 3.7 seconds, the manufacturers say. The unnamed UAE driver asked for a battery instead of a V12 engine in their Lamborghini LM002, the Rambo Lambo. The 1980s military-inspired Lamborghini was a commercial flop, making it a rare and valuable find today that gained admirers in the desert for its all-terrain style. As part of the W Motors tie-up there are plans for experts to work from the UAE company's factory in Dubai Silicon Oasis. Everrati - the name comes from "ever" as in preserving classic cars for the ages, and Rati, a Hindu goddess of love and desire - also plans to help build W Motors' supercars. The prestige UAE car maker is known for models including the Lykan HyperSport, its first, and the Fenyr SuperSport. Everrati says it is open to converting more Rambo Lambos, offering what Mr Lunny calls a "very bespoke journey" for the luxury buyer. "It's all about colours, trims, specifications around audio systems and various different aspects of a vehicle," he said. "We can really customise this. It really is a hand-built, bespoke electric car that we're creating for people." Mr Lunny, a former financial tech executive, told The National of two events that inspired him to found Everrati. One was when his daughter, then aged seven, started worrying that the Earth would flood. It got him thinking about clean tech. The second was the British royal wedding of 2018, when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan drove off in a "just married" electric Jaguar. Watching the Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle "gave me the inspiration, as much as anything", Mr Lunny said. "Yes, it's about climate. I also happen to love cars and happen to love tech, so it made a lot of sense from that perspective."

Eco-supercars: All-electric Lambos and G-Wagens head for the UAE

British luxury car company Everrati eyes Middle East market for its auto classics turned electric