Vintage Johnny Cash Rolls-Royce Converted to Tesla EV
A classic long-wheelbase 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow originally owned by and customized for Johnny Cash has been completely morphed with a 2016 Tesla Model S to make a one-of-a-kind electric vehicle. The piece of country music history was originally purchased by ABC Studios, and given to Johnny Cash for the success of his now legendary The Johnny Cash Show shot at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville that ran from 1969 to 1971. Cash’s initials were embossed in gold leaf on the back doors, and all options were included on the black-colored Silver Shadow.
Johnny Cash originally sold the car in 1985 to a private collection. Before the modification, the car was previously featured on an episode of Pawn Stars and on Speed when it was sold in Las Vegas in 2014 at auction for $80,000.
Eventually the car ended up in the hands of an anonymous owner who happens to be both a big Johnny Cash fan, and a fan of Tesla, and the vintage car was handed over to Shift Electric Vehicles of Albany, Oregon to make a one-of-a-kind Tesla “resto mod.” What makes the Rolls-Royce especially unique is that unlike some other classic car/Tesla conversions, everything about the Rolls-Royce was kept original except for the motor and drive train. The exterior and interior are all the same. Even the shifter and gauges were integrated with the Tesla system, so you use the original shifter to put the car into gear, the fuel gauge is the battery gauge. All of Tesla’s famous computer systems and display? They were moved to the trunk.
At first the owner approached Tesla to do the conversion, but they declined, partly due to the fact that the 50-year-old Rolls-Royce which had 130,000 miles on it was in need of restoration itself even before the Tesla modification. Rolls-Royce’s are already known for their smooth handling and quiet operation. That is why they’re given names such as Shadow, Phantom, and Ghost. After the custom job, the Rolls-Royce runs even smoother and quieter, and the horsepower for the car was doubled.
Taking many custom modifications and 3-D printed parts, Johnny Cash’s 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Tesla is now road ready once again. We still don’t know who the owner is, but they deserve credit for restoring and maintaining this piece of country music history, but in a unique way that will keep it a point of interest for years to come.
“They’re a fan of Johnny Cash. He loved this car, he drove this car a lot, and I think he’d really like our approach to this project if he were here today,” says Kirk Swaney of Shift EV. “It’s still the classic car that he drove. But it’s more reliable, takes off faster, stops faster, and we built it one piece at a time.”
August 16, 2020 @ 9:34 am
Takes a bit of down shifting to comment on this, after the last article….
August 16, 2020 @ 10:12 am
TriggerMan?
Would it be Ok to give Hayes Carll another go?
Think he kind of got buried yesterday, with everything else going on
August 16, 2020 @ 11:45 am
It is my assumption that they did it “one piece at a time.”
But, seriously, folks: Taking a vintage, luxury vehicle like the Rolls and attempting to mate it to a glorified golf cart is an insult to the luxury automobile industry.
That whirring sound you hear is not the electric motor; it is, instead, Johnny Cash spinning in his grave.
August 16, 2020 @ 12:16 pm
Rosanne Cash can now update her song to make it: “My Baby Thinks He’s a Powertrain.”
August 18, 2020 @ 1:17 am
Johnny Cash would probably think it’s a hoot.
August 16, 2020 @ 11:48 am
Should have left it original in my opinion.
August 16, 2020 @ 2:18 pm
What a shame it is to destroy such a piece of history. There will never be another one, it’s gone forever.
August 16, 2020 @ 12:15 pm
However I would support a 6.2 LS lol. I hate Elon Musk don’t know why but he really pisses me off. I guess his attitude of “I’m the future, there’s no other way” is what bothers me.
August 16, 2020 @ 1:24 pm
If Johnny Cash came back to life and someone told him what has been done to his Rolls, he no doubt would ask, “Watt?”
August 16, 2020 @ 1:36 pm
…and when given the answer, he’d say, “Ohm man that hertz….”
August 16, 2020 @ 1:44 pm
Next they’re gonna take all his old records and run them through auto-tune…
August 16, 2020 @ 2:07 pm
Oh well, people modify vintage cars radically all the time. Fast and Loud, Monster Garage etc. Not a Rolls guy myself, much more an American muscle fan, particularly GM. Looove those vintage Pontiacs…Camaros are cool but much more common than Firebirds and Trans-Ams. And those GTO’s….
Hard to get excited over electric motors, when your an old school guy who loves the roar of V8 with a tri-power configuration or a big ol double pumper and a set of headers matched with a dual exhaust. The quiet of an electric motor just doesn’t provide the same visceral feel.
Cash’s taste in cars tended to be foreign. In his auto biography he talked about how much he loved his Landrover. He wasn’t the only country boy who had a Rolls, though. I saw Jerry Lees Rolls just this past february. His son Lee told me Jerry likes to cruise it in the annual Memphis 4th of July parade! It was not the car Jerry crashed into the Graceland gates, however, that would be a cadillac!
August 16, 2020 @ 4:48 pm
Kevin:
If memory serves me correctly Jerry Lee Lewis once had a Rolls confiscated by the IRS. I believe it was parked at the Hilton in Memphis, and Jerry Lee was inside performing when the feds swooped down and got the car.
August 16, 2020 @ 7:06 pm
I’m glad I got to visit the Lewis Ranch before all of the virus deal started.
August 16, 2020 @ 5:53 pm
Hadn’t heard that one. Quite possibly true though. Jerry did have money troubles numerous times in life! Here’s another funny one about him. One of Jerrys ex wives name was on the title of an 80s Cadillac Eldorado he had. Jerry wanted to sell it. She refused to let him sell it and to this day wont. To spite her, Jerry had the car cut in half! If you go to his nightclub on Beale St, you can see half of it as Jerry literally has it bolted on the wall of the restaraunt!
August 17, 2020 @ 7:19 am
Johnny Cash was a visionary and one of the coolest people who ever lived. Lest we forget his last official act was covering a Nine Inch Nails song.
I think he would be pleased his car got a new millennium makeover…
August 18, 2020 @ 1:18 am
Johnny Cash long ago drove her out of his mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWdLIi-gDaw
August 18, 2020 @ 7:06 am
Thanks Lucky!
That song is hilarious! Had not heard it before.
This link popped up when your link came up.
https://youtu.be/eQv9hVBtkqg
Good Lord,
Just looking at Waylon, let alone hearing his voice, is enough to create an incendiary situation.
August 18, 2020 @ 12:16 pm
The only way a Rolls could have more electrical problems is to blend it with a Tesla.
August 18, 2020 @ 1:33 pm
What’s wrong with electric cars?
Like I get they aren’t cool
Not like a humming motor
But I drive a Prius with a Merle haggard license plate
It’s cheaper to run
As long as it looks the same I think it’s pretty nifty