Northway motorsport is offering pre-converted Maruti Ignis for sale, and the EV gets manual transmission for optimum performance
Pune-based EV workshop Northway motorsport has been in the limelight a few times now. The garage offers conversion kits for a few existing IC engine cars, including both passenger and commercial vehicles. Northway is currently also offering pre-converted EVs for sale, based on Maruti Suzuki Ignis, and one can purchase it through their official website.
As per the workshop, the base vehicle is a 2022 Maruti Ignis Alpha MT, with less than 50 km on the clock, i.e., a brand new car. Even the registration provided for the vehicle will be for a new car, although one can also opt to register this as a used car. Buyers can select between a long-range variant (Inter CT) and a standard-range variant (Drive CT), priced at Rs. 14.50 lakh and Rs. 12.50 lakh, respectively.
The Inter CT variant is rated at 240 km of driving range, while the same for Drive CT variant is 120 km. It can take between 4 to 9 hours to charge the battery via a regular charger, and an express charger is offered as an optional accessory. The vehicle can deliver a peak torque of 170 Nm, and can reach a top speed of 140 kmph.
The interesting part about Northway’s EV conversion kit is that it retains the manual transmission of the base vehicle. Of course, this being an EV, there’s no need to work the gearbox in order to run the vehicle, but it does help optimise the performance and efficiency of the electric powertrain. Lower gears offer better acceleration, while higher gears offer better cruising speed.
The EV will be ready for delivery in around two to three months after the completion of payment. If customers choose to cancel their order within seven days of payment, the entire amount will be refunded, but post that, the refund amount will be deducted depending on how much of the order has been completed.
Northway is even offering a warranty on the EV kit for 2 years or 60,000 km. Of course, the manufacturer’s warranty is void after the conversion. The workshop offers kits for plenty of other vehicles as well, including Maruti Dzire, Chevrolet Beat, etc.
Electric vehicle conversion is quite a practical choice, especially with the tightening emission compliances. In fact, old petrol and diesel cars aren’t allowed to run in Delhi NCR, but if converted to EVs, they would be allowed to operate due to the lack of tailpipe emissions.