Sascha Saharov likes to think his 1982 Toyota Hilux ute went from being Canberra's dirtiest car to the city's cleanest and greenest.
''It used to spurt out oil and smoke,'' he said.
Dr Saharov, of Phillip, bought the car in 2007 for $500 for the sole purpose of converting it into an electric car. It took him 10 months to take out ''everything'' and install a US-made electric motor and lead-acid golf cart batteries.
''Just 19th century technology, nothing fancy,'' he said.
He did a straightforward conversion to show how simple the process could be.
Dr Saharov's handiwork was on display yesterday on the lawns of Old Parliament House for the inaugural National Electric Vehicle Festival.
While the flashy red Tesla Roadster also on show, which can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds, drew a lot of admirers, Dr Saharov fielded questions from curious onlookers about the viability of his car.
Can he actually drive it on the road? ''It's all registered, and there's a national standard on how to convert [electric cars].''
How far can it travel? About 80km, ''which is more than enough in Canberra''.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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