.

the car junkie daily magazine.

.

We Will Persevere: EV West’s Tesla-Swapped BMW Proves That Hot Rodders Will Thrive After EVs Take Over


We Will Persevere: EV West’s Tesla-Swapped BMW Proves That Hot Rodders Will Thrive After EVs Take Over

These are strange days to be a gearhead. I envy every last one of you who grew up between doo-wop music and fins, and the tail end of disco just before restorations went absolutely stratospheric. They were just cars, and if you had a good car you didn’t have to justify a damn thing to anyone at any time. Was it long, low and meant to be comfortable? Pile on in, then. Was it primer black, shaking like a scared dog as mean as the mutt in the junkyard? Then strap yourself in and hold on because life is about to get very interesting. It didn’t matter if your beef was Mustang Vs. Camaro or Cadillac Vs. Lincoln, they all had one shared element: the internal combustion engine. Do you have a turbo-four that’s punching above it’s weight? A V6 that’s pissing off everyone because it’s that good? A rev-happy small block and a thumper of a big-block? Hell, are you a diesel fiend? It’s all good, you all have something in common.

Then came Tesla and Toyota. And between the two of them, a revolution in the automotive world seems to be unfolding. Every manufacturer has to at least put on the façade of being interested in hybrid or electric-only technology in order to dodge the poisoned arrows from Internet experts, ecological warriors and anyone who is willing to wrap their arms around the nearest poison ivy-covered tree for a great big hug. But that isn’t so much a bad thing, is it? Look…I’m not getting political here and I don’t have the answers if the EV/Hybrid route is going to stick or not. But make no mistake, the electric cars of today aren’t the same as when you saw a Jet Electric 007 based on a Dodge Omni 024 and stifled a laugh. The guy who gutted a Tesla Model S and went around breaking hearts and egos has had a ball. The “White Zombie” Datsun 1200, the “Teslonda” Honda Accord, and the “Zombie 222” Mustang are all EV-swapped units that have the ability to kick in teeth at will. And so does the car that recently repaved the Hoonigan’s burnout lot at Irwindale. It’s a Tesla-swapped E36 BMW M3, and if nothing else it’s got the nuts to make a lot of vulcanized rubber dust. Check it out:


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0

4 thoughts on “We Will Persevere: EV West’s Tesla-Swapped BMW Proves That Hot Rodders Will Thrive After EVs Take Over

  1. Patrick

    So it does burn outs for five minutes then needs a full charge. Fun. Looking forward to exciting build videos of them soldering wires together and programming computers.

  2. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    So just when you thought that all those LS swaps were boring along come some brain damaged clowns who have Tesla tattooed on their johnsons to take idiocy to a new level – but why not put the BMW motor into the Tesla you my ask. But that would take a fully functioning brain….

Comments are closed.