Review | The Electric Mk1 Mazda MX-5 by Electrogenic
MX-5 purists, brace for impact!
Electrogenic’s latest creation is probably going to cause some upset. Converting any ICE car to electricity tends to wind people up, but an NA MX-5? That’s going to ruffle a few feathers.
If you’re not familiar with Electrogenic’s work, here’s the rub. It’s an Oxfordshire-based company that swaps ICE powertrains for EV ones. It’s been going since juuuust before the pandemic kicked off in 2020 and is expanding its remit at a remarkable rate. Its business kicked off as a way to make commercial vehicles greener, but has led to bespoke conversions, DIY kits for Minis, not-so-DIY kits for things like Land Rovers and E-Types, converted Defenders on test with the military, some behind the scenes work with… people, and more besides. What Electrogenic doesn’t do is restoration - if you took a ratty 911 with a body so rusty you can see through it, the team won’t fix ‘er up for you. That’s not Electrogenic’s game.
Converting an ICE to EV
The MX-5 Electrogenic has to play with is a bespoke project - a client came to them with a cherished car and asked them to take its motor out and make it greener. What the team learned mid-conversion is that the work here can be turned into a kit, which means if any other NA drivers out there fancy making the switch, they can.
The petrol engine is out, and the EV batteries and motor are in.
In place of a four-pot petrol engine is a 160bhp 229 lb-ft motor fed power by 42kW of batteries. Power still runs to the rear wheels, though not via a manual gearbox - rather a single speed auto here. The batteries live both under the bonnet and where the fuel tank would have been in the back, and are good for, says Electrogenic, more than 150 miles depending on the mode you choose - Normal, Sport, or Eco. They do exactly what you’d expect. One’s for trundling, one’s for having fun, and the other’s for getting as much range as possible out of the car. Before you start baulking and saying ‘well that sounds immensely heavy,’ have a rest, inhale some lavender, and calm yourself. The setup does add weight - 100kgs, or roughly the average weight of a moon bear. Not so much that you’ll notice with the extra power on board. Helpfully, the weight has been spread out over the car to keep the balance as perfect as can be. 0-62mph takes around six seconds, says Electrogenic,
How much does it cost?
Before we carry on, there is one downside that will make you baulk, and I doubt there’s enough lavender oil in the world to calm your nerves: the price. The bespoke car’s cost is undisclosed - that’s between the owner and Electrogenic - but the kit? Full pricing will come out in a few months, however the plug ‘n play kit for a classic Mini is around £25,000, and an E-Type kit kicks off at about £65,000 (before installation costs), so expect it to be somewhere in the middle of those two… Which is quite a lot for a car you can pick up for as little as four grand (though how ratty the ones at that price are remains to be seen). The kit, then, is a heart-over-head job.
The driving experience
The NA MX-5 is a tiny thing, disarmingly so compared to most of today’s cars. Opening the bonnet to see a bright brace bar and no buzzy four-banger is a touch disarming, but it’s oddly refreshing in a way. On a chilly January day, I slotted myself into the fun seat, twisted the key and waited for something to happen. There’s no starter motor to cough the car into life, so an optimistic beep letting me know the system is good to go will have to do.
Normal Mode
Kicking off in normal mode, the little Mazda felt as perky as one might hope from a 160bhp EV. The throttle responded keenly, getting me up to speed far quicker than the previous occupant of the engine bay would have managed. It keenly whirs you to where you want to be; all the while, you find yourself listening for the tell tales of a converted car: petrol engines hide creaks. Electrogenic isn’t about fixing cars up, which means if the car it’s put electricity in doesn’t have a full complement of tightened screws, you’re going to hear them. The firm’s E-Type and DeLorean conversions were shown up by this - you could hear bits of body and trim rubbing and creaking with abandon. The MX-5, or at least this one, was a testament to its makers. While the fabric roof made a bit of noise against the windscreen, the rest of the cabin was largely silent.
Sport Mode
Flicking it into Sport, the throttle felt a touch livelier, eager to fling me up and along straights with gusto. The extra pep makes up for the lack of aural urgency usually provided by a petrol motor, and feels pleasingly brisk in the process. It’s the setting for your favourite road, or to blow the cobwebs away.
For the purists, the extra weight may be a concern for the handling, but in reality, it’s nothing to get worked up about. More torque to play with helps whatever gap there would have been in performance, and it still handles sweetly. Of course, there’s no longer a mega slick manual to enjoy, but its steering remains utterly brilliant. Direct, light, and fast, it’s a reminder of what steering both used to be, and could be given half the chance.
Flicking my way around a damp track at Bicester Heritage, I was thoroughly enjoying silently living my best sports car life, and then I remembered that a lively throttle and greasy tarmac make an interesting combo. Getting on the pedal too early in a corner, the rear stepped out, and was pleasingly easy to catch. More torque doesn’t make it unruly at all. Eco mode nulled things and calmed the rear down - no heroics here.
Safe for Cities
A neat touch on this particular car is a speed limiter. It’ll live in London where the limit jumps from 20 to 30 and back without a moment’s notice, and its future owner wants to keep their licence clean and shiny. A knob on the transmission tunnel gives you access to the full speed, 30mph or 20mph - it works brilliantly and will almost certainly save some awkward letters from the plod.
To conclude
An electric MX-5 may rub some people up the wrong way. The purity of the original could have felt lost with more weight on board, but when you think about it - an electric motor is far simpler than a combustion one (incredibly intricate software aside). It’s fun, it’s quick, and it’s the sort of thing certain people will lap up. But it will be rather spendy.
Words by Alex Goy
Pictures courtesy of Electrogenic
