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Chevrolet Performance and MotorTrend brought their electric collaboration, Project X, to the 2021 Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis to give race and performance enthusiasts a taste of the future of engine swaps and rebuilds. With a two hour, press and donuts meet and great on Friday morning, it's clear that the canary hot rod is intended to bridge gaps and demonstrate proof of concept for the internal combustion loving crowd.
Project X, a bright yellow 1957 Chevy, was a longtime testbed for MotorTrend's HOT ROD magazine and its ensuing video channels. Purchased in 1965 for $250, the Chevy sedan has tested new products, new tech and trends for decades. It's been rebuilt, reshaped and reimagined over the years with V-8, inline-sixes, and used carbs, fuel injection and supercharging, each of which represented the future of motorsports. Now, this variation of Project X, which debuted at SEMA 2021, is a showpiece for the electric crate engine. Chevrolet Performance, MotorTrend and Cagnazzi Racing came together to build a "hot rod" chevy that delivers an estimated 340 horsepower with an electric motor.
“Project X has always served the car community by pushing the envelope with groundbreaking technologies,” said Douglas Glad, group content director, MotorTrend Group. “As the auto industry shifts rapidly toward electric vehicles, this Project X build is just the latest in its celebrated legacy of adapting hot rodding to the powerful technology of tomorrow.”
Cagnazzi Racing paired the 340 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque electric engine powered by a 400-volt proof-of-concept lithium-ion battery which stores 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity, all with a quick-change differential to adjust for use.
The engine required an electric brake booster and electrohydraulic power steering pump, all riding on the sixth-generation Corvette front suspension installed in 2007. The vehicle was then lowered by roughly 2 inches. Less weight under the hood and more weight over the rear axle meant installing softer front springs and stiffer rear springs.
“We are racers and hot rodders, with deep roots in internal-combustion racing engines,” said Vic Cagnazzi, owner of Cagnazzi Racing. “But we see this next leap into EV performance propulsion as a natural evolution for hot rodding. Our goal with this conversion was to maintain the look and integrity of the classic hot rod, while modernizing the propulsion technology.”
Bringing the vehicle to the Performance Racing Industry show allows Chevrolet Performance to demonstrate their commitment to the heart of their industry -- the race and performance enthusiast. Demonstrating to lovers of speed, power and torque -- particularly on the track -- that the eCrate engine can play with the big dogs is essential. And while there's still the rumbling and grumbling over the roar of the engine, the smell of gasoline, and the inevitability of change, it seems that enthusiasts are having actual conversations about the benefits and drawbacks of electric conversions, driven in part by cars like Project X.
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