Stamford brothers dismantle Tesla on their coffee break - and fit motor into 1989 Golf GTI

Two Stamford brothers have dismantled the motor of a Tesla to fit into their 1989 Golf GTI; known to them as the Gesla project.

The golf has been brought bang up to date with the installation of all of the modern parts to run the car on electricity.

They displayed the classic car EV conversion for the first time in public at the Stamford Round Table Car Show on Sunday.

The Wintertons, from Collyweston near Stamford, have a hobby of restoring, modifying and racing cars.

During lockdown, they disassembled a Tesla – just to see how it worked.

By the end of the strip-down, half of their garage was filled with Tesla parts; in the other space was a derelict 1989 VW Golf GTi.

It was the work of a single coffee break to decide that the two should be combined.

The result is the Gesla, a classic Volkswagen that runs on Tesla batteries.

Max Winterton, 29, a former pupil of Bourne Grammar School, said: “The project was much more difficult than we expected and it took a lot more time.

"Now it is finished, we are all very proud of the way the car drives along in silence.”

Younger brother, Johnny Winterton, 22, former The Kings School pupil in Peterborough, is an engineering undergraduate at Coventry University.

He undertook the CAD design work.

Johnny added: “We are expecting the 32kWh battery to give the Gesla a range of 130 miles between charges.”

All of the family are very grateful to friend Lee Wyatt for his efforts in the workshop and to Bretton Green Ltd.

Now that the Gesla is completed, the brothers have already taken delivery of their next project.

Their neighbours may have spotted the tired Airstream caravan being delivered last week.

The renovation of the structure, and a complete interior refit, is presently at the planning stage.

The proposal is to polish the aluminium exterior to a shiny mirror finish.

Meanwhile, the timeworn 1960s interior will be replaced with a sleek modern look, modelled on a London vodka bar.

Work is forecast to be complete by next Easter.

It remains to be seen whether the Gesla will be able to tow the Airstream.