Pictures: Andrew McClary

There is a lot of talk these days about electric cars and alternative fuels, and not everybody is on board with these new-fangled vehicles. Electric cars like the Nissan Leaf are neither fast nor long-lasting, going an average of less than 100 miles to a charge. But there are ways to make electric vehicles cooler-looking and more fun to drive

Just ask Andrew McClary, who bought an old FiberFab GT-40 kit car off of eBay and not only restored it, but converted it into an electric vehicle with a top speed of 130 mph and a range of 120 miles. Andrew documented the whole thing on his website, EVMania.com.

Andrew bought the uncompleted FiberFab Valkyrie off of eBay, getting for his money a clean body but a rusty frame. It took him two years and plenty of money, but the end result is a cool, unique car with retro looks and a futuristic drivetrain that uses no fuel at all. And thanks to modern lithium-ion battery packs, the GT-50 ain’t no slouch, reaching a top speed of 130 mph with a range of 120 miles on a single charge.

Even GT-40 purists can’t really get upset with a clever kit car conversion like this. The FiberFab Valkyrie is no GT-40, though the styling was obviously borrowed from Ford’s most famous race car. This was a labor of love, from the roof-mounted solar panels to the Lamborghini doors. And the end result is a car that is both retro cool and amazingly modern…perhaps even a peek into the future of hot rodding itself.