A US tuner has put a 500bhp Tesla motor into a rare Porsche 911

An American company has modified a rare American Roadster with an American powerplant. This is Sacrilege Motors’ first ever commission: a modified 964 Porsche 911 dressed out in triple black nicknamed ‘Blackbird’, for obvious reasons.

Sacrilege. While the company name might feel like a joke on the 911 community, its enthusiast owners say they’re in fact trying to retain the spirit of the classic Porsche and reduce its environmental footprint.

As such, out goes the air-cooled flat-six and its 250bhp from the super rare 911 America Roadster (just 250 were built between 1992 and 1993), and in comes an electric motor from a Tesla Model S powered by a 62kWh battery pack with double the power. Range is quoted at around 200 miles. And alongside 500 electric ponies, there’s also 369lb ft of torque on offer.

Where the original 964 AR could manage 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds, this electrified version manages it in under four. Sacrilege Motors has gone to work on the car’s chassis, too, fitting two-way inverted custom Penske racing shocks up front and three-way adjustable ones on the back. There are big Brembo brakes all round. There’s a limited slip diff, too.

“We want to deliver an analogue, air-cooled-era 911 with the reliability and instant power of an EV, while preserving an exhilarating driving experience that’s familiar to air-cooled 911 enthusiasts,” said SM president and technical lead Bobby Singh.

“What we’re doing at Sacrilege is just adding an electric power option to your analogue quiver of fun,” added SM CEO Phil Wagenheim. Indeed the company concedes that “some might call such conversion work heresy, but others welcome the act of retaining the classic 911’s uniquely enjoyable driving dynamics while reducing its need for maintenance and environmental impact”.

Should be lively, at least.