British coachbuilder Coleman Milne has unveiled a new, all-electric hearse and limo for funeral directors based on the Ford Mustang Mach E.

The Etive range, named after the Etive river in the West Scottish Highlands, is 114mm higher than standard and is designed to carry seven passengers in addition to the driver. A flat, full-length 2,300mm deck has ample space for personal tributes, three full-size bearer seats with lap and diagonal seatbelts, and a glass roof.

Both the hearse and the limousine contain a 75kWh battery, which is capable of delivering an estimated range of up to 200 miles, compared to 273 on a standard Mach-E. They will be offered to the UK and European markets in left and right-hand drive configuration and will be available for demonstration in the first half of 2023.

The Etive range will undertake accelerated structural durability testing in the coming months to validate its integrity across 40,000 miles of road usage.

“We have long championed the electric hearse at Coleman Milne,” said Graham Clow, National Sales Director, “The Mach-E is the perfect base for a comfortable, quiet and respectful hearse and limousine, while also providing funeral directors with all the benefits and innovations found in today’s electric vehicles.”

Coleman Milne was the first converter to introduce plug-in hybrid and fully electric hearse and limousine models to market. The Etive joins a model line up which includes a plug-in hybrid version of the Mercedes E-Class and the Whisper hearse, based on the Tesla Model S platform. Rival companies have also made hearses based on the Nissan Leaf.

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