Las Vegas is currently hosting the annual SEMA event, the aftermarket automotive trade show. Hot rods and custom cars have always been a SEMA thing, but these days there's no guarantee you'll find a brawny V8 or even any cylinders under the hood. In the past, we've covered show cars from Ford and Chevrolet, but this year, the electric custom car is a full-blown trend.
Of course, the big OEMs haven't ignored SEMA in 2021. Ford is still in the first flush of Mustang Mach-E mania, and the Blue Oval brought multiple Mach-Es to the show. One is an aggressive-looking Mach-E GT that will be auctioned for charity after hopefully hitting 200 mph (321 km/h) at Bonneville, and another is bright orange with lowered air suspension and an e-bike charging rack at the back.
But the car that really caught my attention is a Shelby Mustang Mach-E GT concept, complete with the iconic white-with-blue-stripe livery. I'm not sure it's any faster than the Mach-E GT Performance Edition that recently brightened my day, but it does look even better, with graphene-infused carbon-fiber bodywork.
The Shelby Mach-E GT also has retuned magnetorheological dampers and is fitted with carbon-fiber springs. Its Pirelli P Zero performance tires have been swapped for a set of Michelin Pilot Sport EV rubber. Ford is not saying if there will be a Shelby version of the Mach-E, but if there is, I hope I get a chance to drive one.
It was actually another electric Ford that captured the headlines yesterday, however. The Ford F-100 Eluminator started life as a 1978 F-100 pickup, but it's now fully electric, powered by a pair of the same electric motors you'll find in the Mustang Mach-E GT.
If that sounds like something you would want in your 1978 Ford, I have good news. Ford Performance will sell these 281 hp (210 kW), 317 lb-ft (430 Nm) drive units as crate motors. They're best used in a transverse-oriented application and will retail at $3,900.
Superformance has been making Shelby Cobras under license since 1996. Now it has made one without a V8!SEMA/Craig Perronne
You'll find batteries under the hood of the Cobra EV instead.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Cobra's exposed racing fuel filler makes the perfect housing for a J1772 charging port.SEMA/Craig Perronne
Keeping with the snake theme, how does an electric Shelby Cobra roadster with 1,500 lb-ft (2,034 Nm) sound—other than potentially terrifying? Superformance has been license-building Shelby Cobras (and Daytona Coupes) for quite some time now, but this might be the first time the company has made one without a V8 heart.
In much the same way as Carroll Shelby transplanted a Ford V8 into an AC Ace roadster in 1962, Superformance has now transplanted a Tesla drive unit to power the rear wheels. If that sounds like not enough torque for you, take heart in the knowledge that Superformance is also evaluating an all-wheel drive variant with two Tesla drive units, one for each axle.
It's almost hard to believe this Plymouth Satellite is a 49-year-old muscle car.SEMA/Craig Perronne
Some of the Satellite's 102 kWh of batteries live under the hood.SEMA/Craig Perronne
More lithium-ion lives in the trunk.SEMA/Craig Perronne
Tesla power is also at work inside Kevin Erickson's 1972 Plymouth Satellite. The sleek silver coupe looks much more up to date than its 49 actual years would have you believe—probably a consequence of the new front treatment and some modern alloy wheels.
It has 600 hp (447 kW) to call on, supplied via 102 kWh of Tesla battery packs, which are cooled via the Satellite's air conditioning system. With so much power, it's not surprising this Plymouth can hit 60 mph in four seconds, but it also manages to get 250 miles (402 km) of range, making it longer-legged than at least a couple of new EVs we've tested recently.
Gateway Bronco restomods the iconic Ford SUV, and it has made an electric version called the Luxe-GT.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Gateway Bronco Luxe-GT interior.SEMA/Craig Perronne
Legacy EV supply Gateway Bronco with its batteries, and the e-motor is from Danfoss.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Luxe-GT infotainment screen.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Gateway Bronco Luxe-GT brings even more lithium-ion to the party—108 kWh in total, this time from Legacy EV. Think of it as the Bronco alternative to that electric Range Rover Classic we featured earlier this year, with an emphasis on style and luxury, complete with a 24/7 concierge service to make ownership of this restomod hassle-free.
It sounds pretty practical, too. That huge battery pack gives the Luxe-GT 300 miles (482 km) of range, despite its 1970s aerodynamics. It even features Apple CarPlay.
The 1957 Chevy hot rod known as Project X has been rebuilt for the EV era with a Chevrolet Performance concept electric propulsion system.Chevrolet
The 1957 Chevrolet is now powered by an electric motor that delivers 340 horsepower.Chevrolet
Chevrolet actually showed off its own electric crate motor already at last year's online-only SEMA. This year, the bow-tie brand teamed up with Motortrend to electrify Project X, a 1957 Chevy that has been used over the years as a test bed for various different new technologies.
So out went the supercharged V8, replaced by a 340 hp (254 kW), 330 lb-ft (447 Nm) electric motor fed by a modular battery pack that Chevrolet Performance is evaluating as a possible product. Project X also now rides a couple of inches lower than ever before, a result of no longer having an exhaust system that needs packaging.
The Salvage to Savage YouTube channel built this Chevrolet C-10 electric pickup truck.SEMA/Craig Perronne
That big lever engages regenerative braking so you can get the truck sliding in corners.SEMA/Craig Perronne
One of the two Tesla motors that propels the C-10.SEMA/Craig Perronne
And you'll find the other Tesla drive unit at the rear.SEMA/Craig Perronne
When Chevy showed SEMA its first thoughts about an electric crate motor in 2019, it did so with a C-10 pickup truck. This year, the people behind the Salvage to Savage YouTube channel also electrified a C-10 pickup, but this 1985 example has become a bit of a beast.
This C-10 is now all-wheel drive, courtesy of a pair of Tesla drive units, and it also runs on aftermarket fifth-generation Corvette suspension. Plus, there's a big lever in the cockpit to engage regenerative braking that is meant to help get the electric C-10 sliding.
This handsome thing is a Buick Electra body grafted onto a Karma Revero electric car. Oh, the man standing in front of it is actor James Marsden.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Revero was chosen because it was dimensionally similar to the Electra.SEMA/Craig Perronne
The Electra's interior.SEMA/Craig Perronne
Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer vampire James Marsden is partly responsible for a magnificent-looking electric Buick Electra, built together with TV mechanic Ant Anstead for an episode of Celebrity IOU: Joyride.
Tesla power would probably have been the easiest choice for the electric Electra. Instead, the builders decided to base it on a Karma Revero, which is dimensionally similar to the 1963 Buick. The Electra's bodywork was then fitted to the Revero's chassis, which caused more than a few headaches in the workshop.
It's not just domestic classics being electrified, either. Rywire is a motorsports electronics company, and for SEMA 2021, it decided to electrify a Honda S2000 sports car.
In what might be a miracle of packaging, Rywire was able to fit a Tesla drive unit and battery packs from a Chevrolet Volt to the S2000, extending the frame (but not the wheelbase) in the process. Custom A-arms kept the car's width stock, and it only gained 200 lbs (90 kg) in the conversion.
Finally, there's the bright orange Porsche 911 by Electric GT. I've been following this company for a while and watching as it develops its own series of EV batteries to pair with Tesla drive units to offer a plug-and-play road to electrification for custom car builders.
With 435 hp (324 kW) and 331 lb-ft (450 Nm), the Electric GT 911 gives up nothing to an internal combustion engine Porsche in terms of performance, and you can even fast-charge it, adding 160 miles of range in less than an hour.
Listing image by SEMA/Craig Perronne
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