General Motors has taken the next step toward offering electric crate motors, and the finished product is this 450-horsepower, all-electric 1962 C-10 pickup truck unveiled Tuesday equipped with what the company is calling its "Connect & Cruise" powertrain.
It sounds lofty, but at its core, Connect & Cruise is simply a repackaged set of EV powertrain components from Chevy's utilitarian Bolt EV. "Double-stacked" EV motors replace the gasoline engine under the hood, and power goes to the rear wheels by way of a conventional automatic transmission.
Twin 400-volt, 60-kwh batteries sit in the truck's bed. Chevy says this combo is good for a 0-60 time of approximately five seconds and a 13-second quarter mile.
"The Chevrolet E-10 electrified Connect & Cruise concept system reimagines the performance crate engine for hot rodders," GM performance boss Jim Campbell sad in a statement. "As General Motors continues to work toward our vision of a zero-emissions world, concepts such as this help us get there, while still supporting the enthusiasts who love to drive vintage vehicles."
This is not the first time GM has suggested the idea of delivering electric crate motors. Last year's eCOPO Camaro was the first test-bed that was developed in the public eye, and the result was a 9-second drag racer equipped with an 800-volt charging system designed to keep up with the demands of drag racing's quick turn-around time between runs.
Chevy proved with the Camaro that it could deliver both the performance and reliability needed for a dedicated drag car. The 700-horsepower motors mated directly to the company's LS-family transmission bellhousings, which meant that, theoretically, anybody with basic engine swapping know-how could swap in the electric motors just as easily as they could any junkyard V-8.
GM hinted at the time that the eCOPO Camaro concept could give birth to a series-production crate motor, and it appears we're one step closer to that reality.
