Canadian businessman sells house to fund his own Rolls-Royce Wraith Electromod project
The all-electric Rolls-Royce Specter is coming in 2024 but Vincent Youa Wraith owner from Richmond, Canada couldn’t wait that long and decided to convert his own Rolls into an electric vehicle, a long process that forced him to sell his house and be separated from his family for A long period.
As reported by Global News, the inspiration for the build came from Yu’s daughter Gloria, who worried about the environmental effects of an ICE-powered luxury car and refused to ride as a passenger in the car. his father’s Rolls-Royce Wraith. Vincent wanted to make his daughter proud and instead of trading the Wraith for a true electric vehicle, he embarked on this difficult and expensive journey of converting it to a zero-emissions vehicle with a small team of mechanics.
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The process took four years of work in his garage, including numerous trips to the United States, Japan and Germany to source auto parts. Working on the Wraith took its toll as Yu’s wife and daughter left their home for a long time to avoid stress. The high cost of the conversion prompted him to sell his house in order to finance the project creating a conflict in the family.
There is however a happy ending to the story as Yu eventually completed the conversion and his family returned to live under the same roof. Speaking to Richmond News, Yu said: “A lot of people think I’m crazy, hearing my idea of converting my petrol car into an electric car. But I’m so used to people laughing at me. I always have my head in the clouds.”
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The electric Wraith is now functional and has an electric range of 500 km (311 miles) according to its owner. The stock V12 engine has been replaced with a Tesla-sourced electric motor and battery, although we don’t know the specs for the new powertrain. What’s confusing is that in official videos, the rear suspension appears to be significantly raised, while the driver’s side of the Wraith appears to be damaged in some photos. All this could mean that the donor car was not in very good condition when the project was launched.
Using the experience gained from building it first, Yu wants to convert more ICE-powered vehicles to electric vehicles under his new venture called Mars Power Technology. The official website says similar conversions could be done in luxury vehicles, classic cars and trucks. Despite the slow start, the company is quite optimistic about the future, as it plans to build more than 800 battery exchange and charging stations on North American highways over the next five years.