A few months after premiering at last year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Chevrolet’s electric Camaro eCOPO drag racer has made its racing debut and attracted quite a lot of attention while doing so.
Late last month, the eCOPO hit the drag strip in the U.S. where it went up against a modified pickup truck. It left a very good first impression.
As soon as the driver of the eCOPO hits the throttle, the front wheels soar towards the sky thanks to the instant torque of the powertrain. The run to 60 feet was covered in just 1.3 seconds while the electric drag racer completed the quarter mile in a brisk 10.142 seconds at 130.85 mph (210.58 km/h).
Subtle yet fast.
The Chevrolet Camaro eCOPO is based around the V8-powered COPO but now features two BorgWarner HVH 250-150 electric motors pumping out a combined 600 lb-ft (814 Nm) of torque. Powering the electric motors are four 200-volt battery modules that provide the unconventional muscle car with 800 volts of electrical power.
Interestingly, the eCOPO’s powertrain has been designed to easily drop into the the engine bay and can be hooked up to the same drivetrain components as the regular model. Chevrolet hasn’t said if the eCOPO will reach the production line but if it does, customers could potentially order a single Camaro COPO with two different powertrains that can be interchanged.