Electric Muscle Cars: Blasphemous, or an Inevitability?

Lots of people in the car enthusiast space took the newfound cultural superiority of electric cars pretty hard, ourselves included. But of all the various factions of gearheads, American muscle car fans routinely took it the hardest.

An electric car can never be a muscle car, they often say. Or that EVs are an affront to everything they've come to love and be joyous over when it comes to their favorite muscle cars. As if they were some metaphorical demon come to slay everything they hold near and dear.

They often argue that an electric car with a motor using the same principles as a food blender or an RC Baja truck has no business under the hood of any car, let alone a muscle car. But is this entirely true?

It's possible that if we dial down the bias and look at things objectively, maybe there are some traits that EVs possess that people who grew up on V8s measured in cubic inches can genuinely enjoy.

Take an EV like the Tesla Model S Plaid, for example, one of the most expensive, most polarizing, and the fastest road-legal electric vehicles ever built. Some laud it as the bar-none greatest passenger vehicle ever constructed. As cringeworthy as that notion sounds to some muscle car faithful.

On the other hand, others call it a glorified iPhone on wheels. One that was designed for bougie American coastal suburbanites by an egomaniac with more assets than the Vatican. Yet still, he somehow manages to be "cash poor."

But remember, as much as Tesla may love to LARP as a semi-European company targeting buyers of primarily German luxury cars, the tale of the tape tells an altogether different story. The Model S is, in fact, an all-American sedan purpose-built for modern American drivers. The fact that people all over the world appear to enjoy it as well is just added gravy on top.

For a bit of context, let's compare the Model S Plaid to the closest contemporary V8 muscle car we could find, the 2022 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye. At 201 inches (510 cm) long and 87 inches (210 cm) wide (widebody variant notwithstanding), the Charger Hellcat Redeye is only a few inches here or there away from the dimensions of a Model S Plaid. Makes sense, as both are big American Sedans.

Granted, the 1,020 horsepower the Model S Plaid jets out from zero RPM would probably gap any Redeye not fortunate enough to be wearing drag slicks. 797 supercharged horses may sound wonderful, but it's not 1000-plus horsepower with peak power as soon as you put your foot down levels of crazy. Then again, no other car in the world can manage that.

Differences in their powertrains aside, it's not difficult to see the same rudimentary design language involved in both designs. Both are the two best ways to satisfy grocery and school-run duties. Doing so without needing a weekend car to have fun in.

But at the end of the day, the Model S Plaid is one of the fastest cars ever built, no questions about it. That must assuredly count for something if drag racing is totally your thing. Even if you think Elon Musk is Hades incarnate.

You won't see us faulting somebody for preferring the Hellcat to the Tesla. There are all too many valid reasons why people wouldn't want to buy an EV with the monolithic T for Tesla across its grille. Let alone because people tend to look smug and perpetually up their trumpets when behind the wheel. But Tesla isn't the only game in town anymore. What about an EV from a traditional domestic manufacturer?

Is it possible that the final hurdle between muscle car fans and EV acceptance is an association with past American sports cars with established lineages? Well, that'd be a sturdy argument, if not for the disastrously polarizing launch of the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Then again, what on Earth did they expect was going to happen when they turned a six-decade-old sports coupe moniker into an electric crossover SUV?

Ford should have seen it coming a mile away. But perhaps Mach-E isn't the best ambassador for American electric vehicles. In fact, we think we found one that's much more suited to the job. This is the Chevrolet Camaro eCOPO.

Named after the famous Central Office Production Order drag racing Camaros of the late 60s and again in the late 2010s, eCOPO is to the EV sphere what the ICE powered COPO Camaro is to traditional drag racing. This 700 horsepower monster blitzes quarter-mile times in the nine-second range, all while emitting zero greenhouse gasses and costing less than a McDonald's happy meal to recharge.

Sure sounds tempting with gas prices how they are. Of course, eCOPO was just a pre-production quality concept car. What really matters is what it has rocking under the hood. Technology that will no doubt find its way onto production models. It must be said, the same could be said of Ford and Chrysler as well, as both are hot on the heels of GM in terms of EV technology.

We easily envision an electric Mustang coupe going over much better than an SUV. As for Mopar, their fans can be a bit more stubborn, but we doubt they'd scoff at the idea of a Hemi V8-powered Charger plug-in hybrid once they saw it in person.

At this juncture, GM, Ford, and Stellantis have all pledged to replace their internal combustion passenger car lineup with a full battery and fuel-cell EVs by, at most, the late 2030s. Starting likely with the retirement of the iconic current Dodge Challenger and Charger with plug-in hybrid and full-electric new models to follow by 2024.

Granted, things could change between now and then. But there's reason to suspect that iconic muscle car monikers of days gone by will indeed have an impact on the all-electric future we're all being dragged kicking and screaming into. But what are your thoughts on a potential American muscle car with a plug-in hybrid or full EV variant of the future?

Do you despise EVs and wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole, regardless of who built it? Or does it sound like a neat idea to keep much-beloved American lineages alive? Let us know in the comments down below. Try to keep it civil.

Check back for more from EV month here on autoevolution.