Plymouth ‘Electrollite’ Custom EV Build Packs 645 HP: Wicked Wednesday
Holley High Voltage Experience gives us our first look at this 1972 Plymouth Roadrunner using Tesla Model S power.
If you pop the hood on a 1972 Plymouth Satellite you will likely be greeted by a 225 cubic inch six cylinder putting out 145 horsepower. Adequate numbers for the era but nothing that is going to set your hair on fire. On the other hand, this Plymouth Electrollite which is based on the Satellite will set your hair on fire. And for some Mopar fans it will make your blood boil as well. The Electrollite, as you probably could have guessed by the name, is an EV. The original drivetrain has been replaced with a Tesla Model S large drive unit and a 100-kWh battery.
This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” presented by Nitto features this Plymouth Electrollite owned by Kevin Erickson. We got a firsthand look at this custom EV build at the Holley High Voltage Experience held at Sonoma Raceway. Now with all-electric power on tap the classic Plymouth barely makes a sound as it races down the drag strip. But without the telltale whine of electric power, you would never know this was not using Mopar power.
Ludicrous Power
Erickson is a Mopar guy but for this build he wanted to do something a little different. Electric power might not be the first choice for everyone, but it does offer several advantages. The most obvious is the instant torque. If you have never experienced the immediate thrust in an electric powered car, don’t knock it until you try it. No matter how many fast internal combustion powered vehicles you have been in before, the way an EV can launch will take your breath away. Erickson went with a Tesla Model S Ludicrous drive unit. These units are capable of producing up to 645 horsepower. That is more than enough to smoke the rear tires in an eerily silent burnout.
What the Heck Is a ‘Jigowatt?’
OK, so the Plymouth Electrollite doesn’t have enough juice to power a time machine, but it does have sixteen battery modules. Ten of those modules can be found in the engine bay and the remaining six reside in the trunk. Each battery module weighs about 90 pounds so that means under the hood is about 900 pounds of battery. Batteries are heavy, we know that. In a regular EV the batteries are placed in the floor of the vehicle for a low center of gravity. In this car they sit much higher up so don’t expect this Plymouth to handle like it was on rails. Of course, did a Plymouth Satellite ever handle like it was on rails? But it does use a Gerst tubular suspension so it likely handles better than you would expect.
Interior
If you take a peek inside the Plymouth Electrollite you will notice that it no longer looks like it belongs in 1972. The door cards, seats, and carpeting look original but the gauges obviously are decades newer. There are no analog needles pointing to numbers to tell you any information. Everything is digital now. It is integrated beautifully but this technology did not exist when the car originally rolled off the assembly line.
Exterior
Of course, this build would not be complete without some other modifications to complement the EV power. There is a Wilwood braking system at all four corners. A set of American Racing wheels are wrapped in Nitto NT555 G2 ultra high-performance rubber. But the best bit might be the subtle tweak to the Dodge Demon emblem. The horns have been replaced with lightning bolts as a simple clue as to what powers this beauty.
The First of Many
This is said to be the first Tesla-swapped Mopar build. However, given the EV push in the industry and the fact that Tesla is cranking out more and more cars, this is not going to be the last. We will likely see more and more vehicles lose their Mopar muscle and gain electric power. Is that something you are looking forward to or not? Let us know your thoughts in the Dodge Forum forums.
Photos: Derin Richardson
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