Electric Bugeye

One electrifying Bugeye! NEW VIDEO DRIVE

July 18, 2025 by bugeyeguy

I am nuts for this car.

It’s hard to believe… I own 501 and Gumby, two of the nicest Bugeyes you’ll ever see. But this car is superbly tight, smooth and super quick PLUS it was rescued from a dumpster. It’s one of my favorites, an electric conversion. What’s not to like?

Electric conversions are not for everyone. We’ve built five. This one will make the owner smile for years to come! Check out the video below and you should be able to get a feel for the driving experience!

Don’t worry, purists: we have plenty of gas-powered Bugeyes being built right now, also. Bill’s green Bugeye and Larry’s blue Super Sprite loom in the photo below, awaiting their next round of work!

Bugeye Rescue

July 11, 2025 by bugeyeguy

People either love or hate EV conversions. But regardless of which side of the fence you live on, I made this post out of sheer love for the fact that we were able to rescue another Bugeye. This one was bound for the crusher before Bruce in Iowa rescued it. Given its challenges, he decided an electric conversion would be just what it needed for its next chapter. So we picked up the car in Iowa, brought it to our shop in Connecticut, and welded its spine back together. Then we put in a new transmission tunnel and loaded up all the high-tech electronic bits to make it into a torquey little electric rocket. Check out the details in the below video:

It’s really fun to drive. And fast!

This is our fifth electric Sprite. We are getting better and better at building these and sorting out their unique challenges. This one worked beautifully right out out of the box on its maiden voyage, and we will ship it home to Iowa soon. We only need to cycle the batteries a few times and complete some charging cycles and this one will be ready for its new life to begin. Range for these, BTW, is about 125 miles, which seems plenty for normal Bugeye use (remember, a gas-powered Bugeye with its seven gallon fuel tank has a roughly 175 mile range).

I am beaming today for one additional reason… we are tasked each week with making classic cars as reliable and enjoyable as possible. Seven of us Bugeye people come to work each day to put these cars in people’s driveways and to give our customers a way to unwind. Each Bugeye that leaves our building brings joy to their owner, and in turn to the hundreds of people who see these smiling cars on the road. We are proud to play a part in that chain of happiness; this is a happy car that invites people to smile.

*Bruce’s EV Bugeye checking itself in the mirror… “do these LED headlights make my eyes look big?”*

We are proud to get another smile generator out into the world. Electric or gas, barnfind or concours, our job is to build useable machines that transport their owners reliably while eliciting joy. Thank you to all our customers for the opportunity! And congratulations, Bruce! This car will go great with your (gas-powered) Big Healey!

Smooth movers

February 28, 2025 by bugeyeguy

We’ve been hard at work building exceptional new electric vehicles. At the moment, we have a 1960 Bugeye and a 1974 Midget both undergoing conversion, and you can see a few progress photos here, as these cars come together.

This Bugeye is from Iowa, where owner Bruce rescued the car from the crusher. It was a heavily modified car that probably had a V-8 engine in it most recently, and was then abandoned. We completely restored the transmission tunnel and brought back all its original strength while fixing a multitude of other issues. Now, we have a wonderfully sound chassis that we’ve loaded up with electrical componentry and a new dashboard to give this car a new lease on life. Bruce will paint the car later in Iowa… our job is to make a great electric driver.

*We had to graft in an entire tunnel section in Bruce’s Bugeye floor, as it was completely missing. We also restored his dashboard to a more factory look.*

For all those who are opposed to EV conversions, please keep in mind that this Bugeye never would’ve come back from the dead if Bruce hadn’t rescued it for this purpose.

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Why would anyone want an electric classic car?

November 15, 2024 by bugeyeguy

I have been driving two Bugeyes in my spare time this Fall, 501 (first production Bugeye, completely stock, correct and Concours Gold) and E3 (our third electric FrogE). These cars could not be more opposite. Although we live in a world where seemingly everyone has to choose sides, I will tell you that both of these cars are amazingly wonderful and equally special. (I say this because people love or hate electrics conversions and I invite any haters to have an open mind).

*501, the first production Bugeye Sprite.*

Our FrogE is special. She’s super smooth and has fewer moving parts so reliability is enhanced. It has a range of about 115-125 miles depending on how you drive it, and thus a full charge takes about four hours to consume with average two-lane driving. I have found that four hours is perfect for any small classic sports car-most customers drive for about 30 minutes in their Bugeye on average, so four hours between charges is quite practical. You’ll need to install a charger at your house… I did this for $500 after a rebate from the local power company… and now I can charge every night if I like.

*501’s engine compartment, representing a Concours-accurate Bugeye engine bay from 1958.*

*E3’s “engine” compartment, containing most of the componentry required to electrify a Bugeye.*

Check out the video below in which I explain how all the dials work. We are converting two more Sprites this fall; if you have a Spridget that needs a power plant, these electric drivetrains are fast and reliable. Call if you would like your car converted to electric power!

Electric Bugeye at 80 MPH-VIDEO

December 15, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Here’s our latest FrogE trip on Interstate 95. It’s a joy to drive this car- fast and smooth. We fit a new blue stay fast top on the car this week, and it’s nice and toasty inside with the electric heater that requires no warm-up… the cabin heat is instant!

Watch the video below to see twilight cruising at speed:

I’m excited that the car should meet or exceed our 100 mile range projection. I drove the car mostly on the highway this week, and that’s where electric consumption is the highest because of aerodynamic drag. Yet the range is looking good, in spite of some long highway stints, the car still shows about half charged after about 75 miles, so we have more to go!

Check out the walk-around tour below and call if you want us to convert your Spridget to electric power!

Our fastest Bugeye ever is for sale!

November 10, 2023 by bugeyeguy

Ever since we got into building and selling classic cars about 17 years ago, we’ve been trying to build the most reliable Bugeye on the planet to provide a headache-free experience for our customers. This electric FrogE is the closest we’ve come to delivering on that commitment. I am well aware there are some people out there who are really resistant to electric classic cars in terms of removing what they see as the soul of the car and replacing it with electric components. For those people, we still have many gas-powered options. But for anyone looking for practicality, reliability and ease of operation, this configuration is worth a serious look. While there is no exhaust note, it’s so fast and smooth that the extra power is an attractive trade-off for many customers. You can have super speed with electric or super sound with ICE. It’s your choice. Regardless, the FrogE gives us one more platform to offer new customers and if it breaks down any barriers to entry, we’re all for it. This is one more way to keep these cars alive for generations.

This particular car is the fastest Sprite we’ve ever built with a 0 to 60 time of 7.29 seconds, which is at least 30% faster than our previously quickest Sprite (which was gas powered). That’s fast.

We’ve completely restored this Sprite from the ground-up and then added the electric components which include five Tesla batteries from a low mileage Model S (that was totaled). These batteries give us 32 kw of capacity which is good for about 95 miles of range if you use the car in a spirited manner (as I have been). If you are conservative on the accelerator, you can probably get more than 100 miles of range. Temperature matters too… if you’re in a temperate zone you’ll get more range than we’re getting right now in 40° fall weather in New England.

This car is a dream to drive. It has no bad habits and no issues- it just goes (and will continue to go) for a lot more miles than any gas-powered classic car engine will ever go. You will have to maintain the lever shocks (although we have a tube shock conversion that might help expand the longevity), and there are still rear wheel cylinders to wear out eventually (we do have a rear disc brake upgrade that would increase the lifespan of the rear brakes as well) so there is a little bit of maintenance. You’ll need new tires at some point (they’re brand new now, but they’ll eventually age out) but other than that, the motor is bulletproof, so is most everything else!

These batteries should degrade no more than 10% after 10 years and we made the system modular so that in 50 years the batteries can be removed and upgraded or replaced. Other than that, you’ve got an amazing reliable and consistent platform. All you have to do is charge it and we’ve made that easy as well with the flip-up fuel cap on the rear deck.

Is this the future of classic cars? Time will tell, but in the meantime, we’ve got a really impressive way to live with a Bugeye. You can drive it with one pedal. The regenerative braking is impressive and all you have to do is regulate how much you back off as you decelerate for a stop sign to increase or decrease the regenerative braking and alter your rate of deceleration. It’s a lot of fun! You don’t need the brake pedal often and that will also increase the lifespan of the brake system.

I’ve become quite a convert; I spend my days driving gas-powered bugeyes and other classic cars, but there’s something very refreshing about this electric platform because it feels very low stress and peaceful, especially the traffic lights where there’s no fumes and no oil spots on the ground and no vibration and no carburetors to manage there’s just a deep well of torque anytime you want.

If you’re interested please give a call. We are selling E3 and we will also be happy to do a conversion of your classic British car to make it electric powered as well. People ask me for kits all the time and unless you are a highly qualified builder, I don’t recommend a kit… it’s very difficult to make these work, and we’re lucky to have the experience to be able to do that for you. Rather than purchase a kit, I’d encourage you to send your classic to us and we will do the conversion here and leverage our experience to get the job done promptly and safely!

Click “read more” below for a full compliment of pictures and give us a call if you’re interested!

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