ICON, a restomod company based in Los Angeles, and Stealth EV, a company specializing in electric car conversions, unveiled a new EV conversion at SEMA today: a 1949 Mercury coupe with a Tesla battery pack.

They say that the 1949 Mercury EV Derelict was commissioned by a longtime client, who gave ICON the “go-ahead to push the boundaries of design and engineering.”

The concept of “resto-modding” involves restoring older vehicles while adding new technology to make them safer and more convenient.

In this case, ICON said that it “forensically disassembled the body, replaced all rubber, added insulation and sound-deadening products everywhere. It then reassembled the vehicle in a manner that tried to make it look like nothing had been touched. A robust 4-wheel-independent chassis was developed with Art Morrison Enterprises alongside Brembo brakes.”

They released several images of the result:

As for the powertrain, that’s where Stealth EV came in to help. Here’s how they describe it:

“The dual electric motor, transmission-less design provides 470 lb-ft of freight-train torque and the equivalent of 400 horsepower, with no shifts all the way up to the Merc’s 120 MPH top speed. A full Tesla Performance 85kWh battery array is strategically fit throughout the vehicle for exceptional weight balance. It is capable of an estimated 150- to 200-mile range and has 1.5-hour full recharge capability. ICON positioned a CHAdeMO 125A fast-charger plug behind the tilting front license plate frame and also converted the original gas filler into a Tesla supercharger plug to expedite in-transit charging. A pioneering EV management system protects the batteries from overcharging and also provides thermal management and a host of capabilities and protections.”

In order to maintain some of the vintage look with the modern electric powertrain, they built a custom aluminum “engine” enclosure that actually houses the battery controllers and a few of the Tesla modules

They also added other convenience features like electric A/C and controls to support modern components and functions.

The vehicle is being displayed at the Optima Battery booth #20323 at SEMA 2018 in Las Vegas this week.

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