- Britain’s RBW EV Cars is turning part of a recent $18-million investment into plans to expand to the U.S.
- The company builds MGB-aping EVs using all-new bodies and components—they go for $187,000 a pop
- Its new facility in Virginia should come online early 2025 and turn out 250-plus new-old EVs per year
A British firm that’s built its reputation on converting classic MG sports cars into all-electric roadsters and coupes is looking to expand its operations into the U.S., with a new facility it hopes will be able to churn out about 250 all-new MGB-inspired GTs and Roadsters per year. RBW EV Cars this past summer received some £10 million (CDN$18 million, or US$13.3 million) in funding from San Francisco-based Meson Capital Partners, which the company wants to use some US$8 million (CDN$10.8 million) of to set up an assembly plant in Danville, Viriginia.
The company launched in 2018 with the goal of building 30 classic-MGB-inspired RBW Roadsters, using all-new body shells instead of retrofitting rusty, old examples of the popular British sports cars with the company’s flashy new battery and EV motor tech. Since it got up and running in 2022, it’s finished 27 of them. While at one point RBW was thinking of expanding into EV conversions of vintage Jaguars, it’s since cancelled those plans to hone in on its new-body-MGB plans.
RBW’s two product lines are its RBW Roadster and RBW GT; they’re priced at US$139,000 (CDN$187,000) for the former, and US$151,000 (CDN$203,000) for the latter. The new bodies come from British Motor Heritage, and the batteries are from Turntide, also in the U.K. What RBW brings to the table, besides vehicle assembly, is a patented electric motor mounted in the rear sub-frame.
Since output of the RBWs comes out to about 210 horsepower – twice what U.S.-spec MGBs used to boast back in their heyday – running gear like the brakes have been upgraded to VW Golf discs, and the suspension is now of the coil-over type. To go along with all this modern goodness is a touchscreen on the dash, digital instruments, air conditioning, and bespoke paint and interior finishes. Range is estimated at about 150 miles (240 km) per charge; and top speed is limited to 90 mph (145 km/h).
It’s an attractive proposition to enthusiasts who love the charm of old British sports cars but have no interest in signing over their souls to Lucas, Prince of Darkness (a joke about these cars’ notoriously unreliable Lucas electrical components) or who dig no-tailpipe-emissions motoring. Hence the several millions of dollars invested by Meson Capital, which RBW is turning into left-hand-drive U.S.-spec Roadsters and GTs; as well as a ritzy debut this August at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
If RBW gets its way, the new Virginia plant will employ some 144 craftspeople, building not only bespoke cars but also EV motors and components for use in other manufacturers’ vehicles. The schedule is set for the facility to be operational by the first quarter of 2025; for it to turn out 250-plus cars per year; and for RWB to look at new, future models by 2026. We haven’t heard anything about Canadian availability, but when we do, we’ll let you know.
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