Land Rover conversion kit debuts at Glastonbury Festival

A 'drop in' kit that converts old Land Rover Defenders into fully electric vehicles has been launched and will be in action this weekend at the Glastonbury Festival. A product of a unique collaboration between Electrogenic, Worthy Farm and scientists at Cardiff University, the kit will be used in a fleet of Defenders to help service the needs of more than 200,000 festival goers who are set to descend on Worthy Farm. The 'drop in' kit is composed of an electric motor that is bolted on to the Defenders existing clutch bell housing, so that it can keep all of its gears, along with a number of 52kWh batteries mounted under the bonnet. It provides the vehicles with 120 bhp and 235 Nm of torque - comparable to the original diesel engine - and retains the Defenders versatility, four-wheel-drive and towing capability. The kit can provide over 100 miles of range on-road, and considerably more when driving off-road or around a farm, and has been designed to be entirely maintenance free, giving the vehicle an extended life of 200,000 miles or more. Aimed specifically at landowners and farmers, the team say the kit can save up to £6,000 a year in fuel costs. At a cost of £24,000 + VAT, the team state the kit will easily pay for itself in just four years.