A jeep that was remodeled into an electric vehicle by an Irish firm has been named one of the ‘greatest eCars on planet Earth’ by GQ magazine.
The Croxford Defender, a Land Rover Defender that was re-engineered by Wicklow-based AVA, won Off-Roader of the Year at the 2022 GQ eCar Awards.
The magazine said it was impressed by AVA’s ‘updated and reimagined version of the jeep.
It noted that the vehicle has a range of 200 miles, fully charges in three hours, and goes from 0-62mph (miles per hour) in 5.4 seconds.
Having previously re-engineered a Fiat 500 for Dev Patel and an old VW Camper for Ellie Goulding’s wedding, AVA created an eDefender 110 in Stuart Croxford’s honour.
A former Captain of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, Stuart Croxford has taken part in Ironman triathlons and endurance challenges to raise money for injured veterans, despite suffering life-changing injuries in Afghanistan in 2012.
The vehicle was AVA’s tribute to his ‘incredible courage and determination in the face of adversity.
The firm said the technology within the jeep benefits from over a decade of development, by a team from some of the biggest brands in the automotive industry including Lotus, McLaren, Jaguar, and Williams Advanced Engineering.
“To be named as one of the greatest electric cars on planet earth is a real honour,” AVA founder Norman Crowley said.
“Our whole team has worked tirelessly to create the vehicle that will accompany Stuart Croxford on his challenge as he cycles from Land’s End to John o’Groats in May,” he added.
“Our winners this year are all EV wonders – from re-imagined icons to wildly ambitious next-gen zero-emissions machines,” GQ’s Paul Henderson said.
“The futuristic, practical, and downright-gorgeous era of electric cars we’ve been promised is finally here,” he added.
News courtesy: RTE