Many thanks to The Electronic Telegraph who have given me the permission to copy and publish the article below
The explanation lies under the bonnet. The Range Rover's engine has been replaced by an electric motor, a conversion which took Mike Hammick nine months of evenings and weekends to complete.
For the Hammicks, the effort has been worthwhile. The 1978 Range Rover now costs 1.5 pence per mile to run, compared with 20 pence in its petrol incarnation. It has fewer moving parts, starts every morning - even if cold or damp - and insurance is cheaper. It is also exempt from road tax and the MoT test.
Even so, economy was not the real reason for the conversion. When the last shop closed in Almondsbury, near Bristol, the Hammicks realised they needed a second vehicle as the local bus service didn't meet their needs. But they did not want to add to pollution on the area's congested roads.
An electric car seemed to be the answer. However, when Mike asked garages if he could buy one, the answer was "not yet". So he offered to build one. The Range Rover was chosen because it offered the space needed, both for the family and the necessary batteries, and because of Mik's enthusiasm for the marque. The Hammicks also wanted a substantial vehicle, not least because it would be taken seriously by other road users.
The question of performance has hampered the acceptance of electric cars by manufacturers and the public. The Range Rover conversion is only capable of 35 to 40mph on the level. This does not worry the Hammicks as the vehicle is used mainly for local journeys on which high speeds are unnecessary.
A more practical limitation is the vehicle's range. On a full charge, which takes 12 hours, it can travel 60 miles. Adding more batteries or using a smaller car for the conversion could extend this. But the Hammicks wanted to keep as much interior space as possible.
He has built a portable charger to top up the batteries if necessary and the vehicle, which can be charged from a wind turbine, also has solar panels on the roof, producing 10 per cent of its power needs. At home, it is charged from the domestic electricity supply, on Economy 7.
The vehicle needs new batteries every 10 years. A set of lead-acid cells costs £1,600, which the Hammicks will pay for with the road tax and insurance savings. The only other consumable needed to run the vehicle is distilled water.
The vehicle cost just over £6,000 on the road. The Hammicks paid £2,000 for the petrol Range Rover and £2,500 for the conversion. The balance was made up by the batteries, which had to be bought new. Most of the other components came second-hand. Many, including the first motor, came from a milk float bought for £50 from a nearby dairy and the motor now installed is from an electric bus.
The Range Rover did not require an inspection by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency after the conversion: the Hammicks were sent a new log-book and, each year, collect their free road-tax disk. They voluntarily submit the car for MoT testing and, so far, it has passed, although the emissions checks cause some surprised faces at the test station.
³ Further information on electric conversions is available from the Battery Vehicle Society. Write to Jim Burton, Road Vehicles Co-ordinator, Electronic Design Services, Brunel Road, Gorse Lane Industrial Estate, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 4LU.