VIDEO: EV Hot Rodders create 800 hp electric E36 BMW M3

Back in the afternoon, hot rodding was enormously common. The idea was simple: choose an ordinary auto, stuff a monster motor up front and strip away as much weight as you can. Now, there’s a new kind of hot rodding that’s starting to become popular — EV hot rodding. Basically, you choose an ordinary auto, replace its motor with an electric powertrain and strip weight. In this new movie from Fully Charged, we get to observe an E36 BMW M3 awarded the EV hot rod treatment.

The people behind this EV E36 BMW M3 are all EV West, ” the California-based electric pruning firm, led by Michael Bream. What Bream and his team did was choose an E36 M3, strip it out, match it with a proper roll cage and stuff a 800 hp electric powertrain out of a wrecked Tesla into it. EV West really used this electric M3 to take on Pikes Peak, that is impressive and kind of scary sounding.

It’s scary when you see just how violent its power could be. Admittedly, it’s docile as a Prius around town and, aside from its fully stripped-out cabin, simple enough to drive ordinary. However, simply bend your back and the trunk will break loose in a massive cloud of tire smoke. It’s hilarious and also kind of scary. Imagine driving something that strong on Pikes Peak? No thanks.

It’s awesome, however. With around 800 hp and only around 2,700 pounds (with ideal 50/50 weight reduction ), it has a fairly unbelievable power-to-weight ratio. So the very fat rear tires stand no chance at harnessing all of that power and putting it into the street. That’s why EV West fitted it with a super-fast steering wheel, so that when the rear end does break shed, the motorist gets fast sufficient steering to catch it.

While most car enthusiasts may prefer pruning a huge motor under the hood of an E36 BMW M3, such as the famous LS-swap, electric engines could be equally as enjoyable, if not more so.