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Lingenfelter Ready To Build Your Electric Hot Rod
What would you have them create?
The 2020 SEMA show had to be moved entirely online due to global health concerns, but OEM automakers are still using the new SEMA360 online platform to show off their would-be reveals. Just last week, Chevrolet showed off its new eCrate electric motor package in a 1977 K5 Blazer. Unlike the 2021 Chevrolet Blazer, the K5 used a gas-guzzling V8 that only produced 175 horsepower.
The new eCrate, which is borrowed from the Bolt, produces 200 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque mated to a four-speed automatic. Chevy plans to sell the eCrate alongside other crate motors, meaning it will be easier than ever to create your own electric restomod. If you lack the skills to do it yourself, General Motors has created a Certified Installer Program so you can have this new powertrain professionally installed into your vehicle. The first of these certified installers was just chosen.
"Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is proud and excited to have been selected by GM as the first aftermarket company in developing the Certified Installer Program for their industry-leading eCrate Electric Connect and Cruise system," the aftermarket tuning company posted on its Facebook page.
"As a company, Lingenfelter Performance is committed to a sustainable future in aftermarket performance, and working with the industry leader GM gives us a great opportunity to help guide that future generation of aftermarket performance. We will keep everyone plugged into our exciting project."
Chevy says the K5 Blazer-E is just an example of what can be created with the new eCrate package. Last year, the company showed off a modified S10 called the e-10, packing 450 electric horsepower. As of right now, the Bolt's drivetrain only comes with a 60 kWh, a 400-volt battery pack powering a 200-hp electric motor. This setup should prove perfectly capable in a vintage cruiser like a Blazer or S10.
Those yearning for more performance should be happy to hear that Chevy is considering more potent options in the future, possibly using the Ultium batteries from the new Hummer. Thus far, Chevy has shown off its electric drivetrain in vintage trucks, but the setup could work equally well in a muscle car. Just imagine an electric C2 Corvette with 1,000 electric hp!
