Photo: Lingenfelter
When I hear El Camino, a big-block V8 pickup springs to my mind instead of the Breaking Bad movie from 2019. This particular example of the breed isn’t a Super Sport with the 454-cubic-inch leviathan we all want, but a sweet restomod that takes its mojo from an electric motor.
The 1972 model had its oily bits yanked out in favor of the Chevrolet Performance Electric Connect and Cruise eCrate systems that will be sold through GM dealers from 2022. The build, however, wasn’t performed by General Motors. As the headline implies, the peeps at Lingenfelter did it.
The bed of the concept vehicle houses a battery pack with a capacity of 66 kWh. Lingenfelter and Chevrolet Performance don’t mention if it’s the same battery as the lithium-ion pack fitted to the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, but it’s not in their interest to mention this detail because of the notorious recall that involves 141,000 electric vehicles. More than a dozen battery fires have been publicly reported so far, fires generated by cathode-anode separator issues.
As for the drive motor, supporting electronics, and thermal management system, these are hidden in the engine compartment where the pushrod V8 used to be. Instead of a fixed-ratio gearbox or a two-speed unit like the one in the Porsche Taycan, the zero-emission Elky is rocking a four-speed auto.
Refinished in white plus black stripes on the hood, the all-electric coupe utility vehicle sits on low-profile tires mounted on Forgeline wheels that mirror the design of steelies. And now, have a guess how much horsepower and torque the front-mounted electric motor generates. If you said 500-odd ponies, you’re very far off the mark because this fellow is packing the same powertrain as the K5 Blazer-E concept that Chevy presented last year.
In other words, this amazing car shares its 200-horsepower electric motor with the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Torque is rated at 266 pound-feet (361 Nm), which is a far cry from the 500 pound-feet (678 Nm) of the LS6 engine that General Motors used to shoehorn under the hood of the Super Sport 454.
The bed of the concept vehicle houses a battery pack with a capacity of 66 kWh. Lingenfelter and Chevrolet Performance don’t mention if it’s the same battery as the lithium-ion pack fitted to the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, but it’s not in their interest to mention this detail because of the notorious recall that involves 141,000 electric vehicles. More than a dozen battery fires have been publicly reported so far, fires generated by cathode-anode separator issues.
As for the drive motor, supporting electronics, and thermal management system, these are hidden in the engine compartment where the pushrod V8 used to be. Instead of a fixed-ratio gearbox or a two-speed unit like the one in the Porsche Taycan, the zero-emission Elky is rocking a four-speed auto.
Refinished in white plus black stripes on the hood, the all-electric coupe utility vehicle sits on low-profile tires mounted on Forgeline wheels that mirror the design of steelies. And now, have a guess how much horsepower and torque the front-mounted electric motor generates. If you said 500-odd ponies, you’re very far off the mark because this fellow is packing the same powertrain as the K5 Blazer-E concept that Chevy presented last year.
In other words, this amazing car shares its 200-horsepower electric motor with the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Torque is rated at 266 pound-feet (361 Nm), which is a far cry from the 500 pound-feet (678 Nm) of the LS6 engine that General Motors used to shoehorn under the hood of the Super Sport 454.
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