The point of a restomod is to mix vintage and modern vibes. How those vibes get mixed — what stays vintage and what goes modern — that’s up to the builder and the customer. In the case of the Charge electric Mustang, about the only things left from the past are the silhouettes of a 1967 Ford Mustang and that car’s steering wheel. However, even those aren’t actually vintage, because the shell is a modern, officially licensed replica made of composites, and the steering wheel is all custom fabrication. So yeah, there ain’t much Mustang left in this, and we can see how it isn’t for everyone, but let us go on record as saying we’re fine with that, because this thing is gorgeous. Based out of England and counting engineers who’ve worked with several of the country’s Formula 1 and luxury automakers, Charge didn’t so much make a restomod as it packed today’s technology in a historic wrapper.
The coupe is electric — as much fact as our opinion — in case the company’s name didn’t give that away. There’s a 64-kWh battery powering two motors providing all-wheel drive, those internals provided by commercial EV maker Arrival, which is Charge’s technology partner. The Mustang’s peak pony count tallies 536; peak torque a bodacious 1,061 pound-feet. That’s good enough for a sub-4-second tear to 60 mph. To keep occupants safer when testing that claim, the company says it built in a front crash structure and strengthened the A-pillars. Additional safety aids include ABS, forward collision warning, and autonomatic emergency braking, while driver aids include adaptive cruise control. Estimated range is 200 miles, but that’s likely on the more forgiving WLTP cycle used in Europe.
The cabin houses digital instruments and a custom infotainment system all swaddled in rich, stitched hides. We don’t know where the standard mechanicals like brakes and suspension are from, but the look of the interior makes us suspect nothing on the car is off-the-shelf.
Charge will make just 499 of these, each one asking the royal sum of £350,000 before options, about $455,000 in our greenbacks. Hand-built customer cars are slated to begin production in London this fall, the reservation line is open now.
Source: www.autoblog.com