18 “We had to use data from a number of two-seater ICE vehicles, and although the chassis on an ICE car and an EV are not massively different – the way it puts down in the suspension was quite similar – the extra weight adds more stress. Tesla, for example, has had wishbone failures, so it’s not just the powertrain that’s important in EV design; it’s also the chassis.” Electrified classics In 2020, after around four years as a consultant and at the height of the global pandemic, Fong was approached by Everrati. The company was going through a funding round at the time and, pending its success, it was looking to hire an all-round EV expert to lead and accelerate the development of its electrified classics. Fong’s ability to “wear many hats” was one of the qualities he believes got him the job, but so too were his hobbies outside of work. “I am still involved in aeroplanes, but now I’ve got a pilot’s licence and I’m tinkering with full-size classic aeroplanes,” he explains. “I also competed in drifting, so I had done lots of vehicle tuning in my own time too.” His unique and diverse skillset – spanning electrical and battery design, vehicle integration, compliance and commercial expertise – has been instrumental in Everrati’s evolution from a start-up to an established leader in the luxury automotive sector. These are not vehicles for the masses. These are exclusive vehicles meticulously crafted for discerning owners with concours-standard restoration, stateof-the-art electric powertrains, and the finest materials and craftsmanship. To achieve this, the Oxfordshire firm works with leading UK and global partners, including Aria in California and W Motors in the UAE. “We only build certain models and there’s a reason why we do that,” says Fong. “It takes between 4,000 to 15,000 engineering hours to develop a car properly from scratch, and while some people are willing to pay for that amount of development, in terms of building our company profile we settled on vehicles to develop then productionise. “We’re trying to preserve the classic car as well as electrify it, and it’s a bit like a listed building – you can’t change much, but you want to use the latest materials and make them function well within that space. The models we selected have different powertrain layouts and different power requirements, so they cover as much variety as possible.” Fong’s first task on arriving at the company was to lead the design and build of its first car, a Land Rover, in just eight months – with everyone working from home during lockdown. The company’s ethos, to optimise repeatability by not cutting the chassis and using clean bolt-on adaptations, added even more complexity to the challenge. The development of that first-of-a-kind car, and others since, began by 3D-scanning and weighing the existing vehicle, with and without the powertrain, to identify the target weight and mounting reference points. This was followed by simulations to determine the power, weight and range that would be feasible, and what figures to target. Fong explains: “Obviously, there’s a trade-off: if you want more range, the battery is going to be heavier, so we need to work out where the sweet spot is. We start with the art of the possible, and the absolute baseline is for it to perform with at least the same or greater performance as the original vehicle. “If it’s a Porsche, for example, the benchmark will be the turbo variant. Then we work from there, and start to calculate if there is a possibility to have more power and how that knocks on to suspension upgrades, and so on. We do a cost-benefit analysis within the packaging space to work out if we take a different motor and gearing – what does that look like? “One thing that isn’t often discussed in the EV world is that because an EV motor is a single gear, you have to determine whether you want top-end performance or low-end torque. If you halve the top speed, you have twice the torque in terms of acceleration, so a lot of earlystage simulations are done to work out the optimum performance. “The whole powertrain and system integration is limited by the weakest link. For example, if the motor can do 800 bhp, you need the inverter and battery to match that. In the real world we also try to balance volume effects, where if we use the same types of motors in other vehicles that can have a positive benefit on the overall price points. “The software side is then all about refinement, because power without control is nothing. The old turbo Porsches, for example, had shocking March/April 2025 | E-Mobility Engineering In conversation | Tony Fong Tony Fong says the GT40 is “the most exciting” car in Everrati’s range of electrified classics (Image courtesy of Everrati)
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