Unpopular opinion: Joaquin Phoenix did a better Johnny Cash than Johnny Cash himself.
But this isn’t about country music idols and their film portrayals. This is all about that 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow that once belonged to the man who fell into a ring of burning fire, and lived to tell the tale. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Well, my fellow Petroheads, it seems as though we’re resigned to a future of Electric Vehicles. And while most of us are lamenting the end of the manual gear box, companies like Shift EV are absolutely milking it.
That’s right, Johnny Cash’s beloved Rolls has returned to road action, with a zero-emission twist.
A wonderful gift
Johnny Cash, aka The Man in Black, was riding high towards the end of the 60s. Coming off the back of hit singles like “Walk the Line”, it was only natural for the hunky Country star to make the leap into television.
ABC snapped the hall of famer up, and handed him his own show. The Johnny Cash Show (sigh). Fifty-eight episodes aired between 1959 and 1961, with a slew of superstars making guest appearances from Bob Hope to Bob Dylan.
ABC needed to show some love for their main man, and that’s exactly what they did. They gifted him a brand new LWB (Long Wheel Base) Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Dayum.
After serving ole Johnny well throughout his star-studded years, the Rolls was auctioned off in 2014 for $88,000 at Barrett-Jackson.
A Shift in the dynamic
Like with any classic car in need of desperate restoration, the Rolls’ powertrain drew its final breath and came to a definitive rest after 130,000 miles. But the owner had other plans for it.
He sent it over to Shift EV in Albany, Oregon, for a fixerupper. If you don’t know who Shift EV are, they’ve basically been converting cars, mostly classics, into electrics since 2009. Their portfolio includes a 1904 Electric Woods Road Wagon and a 1978 Porsche 911 to name a few.
Anyway, the boys at Shift EV rubbed their hands together and got to work on Cash’s hot rod, using a 2016 Tesla Model S as the donor vehicle. Why that model in specific? Simple, because the 2016 Model S came with a 75.0-kWh battery pack, which would be easy to modify and fit better in the Rolls. Yes, the pack would hang below the Rolls like a turkey’s wattle, but hey ho err’one got problems.
A real brain picker
I don’t know about you, but this whole outfitting classics with EV parts kind of reminds me of that Ewan McGregor animated film, Robots. Plot: a corporate honcho tries to put a robot spare parts company out of business by supplying expensive upgraded boy kits to the market. Maybe I’m just reading too much into this.
Well, turns out there are a lot of things to consider when Teslafying a Rolls from the 70s. Like where to put that big-ass Tesla infotainment screen (thankfully they stuck this in the trunk), or how to get the original steering to work with Tesla’s modern controls.
Shift EV say they’ll reveal all their secrets to the world with lots of pictures and stuff of the build. Can’t say I’m overly excited (I still think they’re committing sacrilege), but hey if it means the old boys can once again stretch their fenders, then why the eff not?
Since we’re talking about Johnny Cash and cars, you might want to check this out.
