One of America's greatest classics, the Chevrolet Impala, is a popular candidate for restomod projects, so seeing a plain-looking model with a crate engine under the hood is far from unusual. But I bet you haven't seen one with an electric motor and a battery pack yet.
This 1966 Impala looks like a nicely restored classic on the outside. There are no immediately visible mods beyond the 1966 Chevelle hubcaps, but look close enough, and you will spot "electric Impala" decals below the "Impala" badges on the fenders. They are there because this full-size classic hides a battery pack under the front hood and a Tesla Model S motor in the rear.
The latter comes from a P85 model, and it's been transplanted into the Impala together with the entire rear subframe of a Model S, and it's actually more powerful than the Tesla it came from, putting out a solid 550 horsepower. The motor gets its juice from a massive battery pack that takes up almost the entire space available in the engine bay.
The battery pack was built from modules sourced from a Chrysler Pacifica and replaced the 327 ci (5.4-liter) V8 engine. There are 18 in total, and the entire pack is good for 47 kWh. The guy who built the assembly claims that it's capable of 850 kW of power, which converts to more than 1,300 horsepower. Downright insane!
This Impala is also fitted with a cooling system from a Model S plus a Chinese-made 10-kW charger. As a cool feature, the charging port is hidden behind the license plate, where the gas cap used to be.
The interior is all-original and restored to a perfect finish, but the owner added a few extras to go with the modern underpinnings. There's a touchscreen that operates the transmission and serves as a control panel for the air suspension.
This cool, all-electric restomod was put together in Sweden, a country where American classics are really popular. But just like Norway, Sweden is also a big market for electric vehicles, so this Chevy combines the best of both worlds. The owner is actually working on a second Tesla-powered Impala, which you'll see in the shop toward the end of the video.
While classic cars with electric motors may seem unusual, the idea is far from new. Companies in Europe and the U.S. have been doing conversions for a few years now in an attempt to offer oldtimers a sustainable future. And projects like these prove that the classic car's future might be brighter than we think.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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