What's all this about?

The Oxfordshire-based classic EV specialist Everrati has revealed the full technical details of its new flagship, an all-electric version of the GT40 supercar with more than 800hp and 800Nm of torque. There’s no mid-mounted V8 here — just a pair of electric motors sending huge amounts of power to the rear wheels.

GT40? As in Ford GT40?

Well it certainly looks like the Ford GT40, the legendary racer which won at Le Mans repeatedly in the sixties, but, although it’s technically “official”, this is not a Ford. The rights to the GT40 image and name are held by a company called Safir which licences its use to an American firm called Superformance. The Everrati GT40 is built in partnership with Superformance making this an official GT40.

So it's a replica? Or a kit car?

Not at all, though there are plenty of those out there. This is a “Continuation” GT40 with its chassis number in a sequence following on from those of the original Fords. Superformance is a low-volume car company and given that it holds the official rights to the GT40 name, both its own cars and the ones it supplies to Everrati for EV conversions are the real thing.

That clears that up. So what's powering it?

Supplying both motors with power is a 60kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a 700-volt electrical system, which the company says has been designed for high-performance use on road and track, and features liquid cooling to keep temperatures down. The twin motors, made by Integral Powertrain are OEM-spec and together send 811hp and 800Nm of torque to the rear axle.

How far can it go on one charge?

Up to 125 miles, Everrati claims, and the battery can be topped-up from 20 per cent to 80 per cent using a rapid charger in around 45 minutes.

An EV powertrain has got to affect the set-up, doesn’t it?

Quite true, but the re-engineering hasn’t been as extensive and invasive as you might think. First off, the battery pack and drivetrain all utilise the existing structural mounting points in the chassis. There’s no skateboard-style mounting of the batteries under the floor either, with the battery mounted in the sills and behind the cabin to keep the centre of gravity low. Weight distribution front to rear is now 40/60 which is more evenly distributed than an original Ford GT40 and actually, despite EV powertrains frequently being decried as too heavy, the Everrati, the company says, is 47kg lighter than a fully-fuelled GT40 from the sixties.

How's the performance?

Well it weighs 1,320kg and there’s 811hp, so, in short, it’s pretty quick, with 0-60mph dispensed with in under four seconds. Top speed has been limited to 125mph though, so it’s safe to say that this GT40 won’t be breaking records down the Mulsanne Straight like its ancestors.

There’s nothing like a V8 soundtrack though...

There really isn’t, but Everrati has buyers covered on that front. By selecting Race Mode, the driver activates a pair of sound generators which deliver up to 110db of synthesised V8 engine note. Not only that, but in Race Mode the sound has been synchronised with the gear shifter (normally used for selecting drive, reverse and neutral) to recreate the experience of an old-fashioned gear change replete with a momentary pause in torque delivery to add further realism to the simulation.

Give me a laugh. How much?

Everrati hasn’t said, likely because each car produced is a bespoke build and the price for each one varies, but don’t expect it to come cheap.

David Mullen - 16 Jun 2022