Someone Turned This Tiny 1970s Car Into A Lamborghini-Beating Machine
April 12, 2026
The fastest road-legal electric vehicle is probably not what you’d expect. It pulls up to the light, and it’s just 112 inches long and 2,150 pounds. The little yellow box with its comically tall roof and friendly headlights is quite unassuming — but Jonny Smith has made it into a supercar-beating machine.
Smith purchased the Enfield 8000 despite its flood damaged past, back when it originally produced 8 horsepower and had a top speed of 40 miles per hour. He clearly had a vision: With two 9.0in DC motors, the Enfield 8000, originally designed in the 1970s, now has 800 horsepower, 1200 lb-ft. of torque, and will most definitely smoke you at the light.
Now, the Enfield 8000 can reach 60 mph in under 3 seconds, and 113 miles per hour in 6 seconds. Its quarter mile record is 9.86 seconds, reaching 121 mph. “Everyone said it would be undriveable,” said Smith, “but it has exceeded expectations. I wanted to do an old EV and found this. I liked it immediately because it was odd, British and unlikely.”
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Jonny Smith’s Enfield 8000 reaches incredible speeds very, very fast. But can it actually beat supercars? How does the Enfield 8000’s motors compare to the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ‘s 6.5 L V12? Well, the Aventador SVJ can reach 60 mph in 2.5 to 2.8 seconds and 124 mph in 8.6 seconds. Its quarter mile is 10.3 seconds at 136.4 mph. I’m no numbers cruncher or drag strip judge, but it does sound like the Enfield 8000 would beat the Aventador SVJ in a quarter mile with a photo finish.
The Enfield 8000 could also take on a McLaren 720s, a Porsche 911 GT3, and a Ferrari LaFerrari. What an entertaining drag race that would be! Of course, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the importance of 0-60 times now that even family-oriented SUVs can take off in just a few seconds thanks to the rise of EVs. But the Enfield 8000 can even keep up with the Tesla Model S P85D, which can hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds in “Insane” mode.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
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