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Mopar shows off its electrified Jeep 'CJ Surge' concept at SEMA 2022
At SEMA 2022, Mopar showed of the Jeep CJ Surge, an EV restomod that could become the basis for an electrified classic muscle car renaissance.
Chevrolet's 1957 Project X car is now an EV
It now has an electric motor with an estimated 340 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque.
Chevy's electric hot rod truck mimics the sound of a V8
Ford isn't the only automaker who rolled into SEMA with an electrified version of a familiar car. Chevy has unveiled an E-10 Concept hot rod that looks like a slammed vintage pickup truck (the 1962 C-10), but packs thoroughly modern EV tech. It's powered by a double stack of concept electric crate motors that provide an estimated 450HP, or enough to reach 60MPH in 5 seconds and obtain projected quarter mile times in the "high 13 second range." There's even a conventional automatic transmission. However, it's the sound that really stands out -- Chevy's concept is built for hot rodders who'd be self-conscious about the lack of engine noise.
Ford's electric Mustang project car packs a manual transmission
Sports car enthusiasts will sometimes balk at electric cars due to their usual lack of manual transmissions (there's no need for a gearbox, after all), but Ford has hinted that stick shifting might not be completely dead. The automaker has partnered with Webasto on a Mustang Lithium project car (no, it's not the Mustang-like SUV) that mates a monstrous 900-plus horsepower electric motor with a six-speed, drag-race-ready Getrag transmission. You could have the thrill of dropping 'gears' without the guilt of spewing emissions, and you'd definitely feel it when there's over 1,000ft/lbs of always-available torque.
Pizza Hut's hydrogen delivery truck hauls a robotic kitchen
Pizza Hut will not be outdone in the pursuit of over-the-top delivery vehicles. The restaurant chain has teamed up with Toyota to unveil the Tundra Pie Pro, a concept hydrogen fuel cell truck that not only cooks pizzas, but uses a pair of robot arms to move them along the line. The mechanical limbs fetch pre-assembled pizzas, bake them, slice them and slide them into boxes all on their own -- they'll even ring a bell to let you know your meal is ready.
Chevrolet's electric Camaro race car packs an 800-volt battery
Chevrolet has introduced a new concept car designed for drag racing, and it's not an entirely new model: it's an electrified version of the COPO Camaro. Aptly called the eCOPO Camaro, it's based on the 2019 version of the Chevy classic and has an electric motor that can provide the equivalent of over 700 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. Chevy believes it can reach a quarter mile in under 10 seconds. Its standout feature, however, is probably its 800-volt battery pack. That's twice the voltage of the battery packs in the Chevy Volt, the Chevy Bolt EV and Tesla's vehicles.
LincVolt dies in a fire, is being rebuilt (video)
Warm up those phoenix references, because this LincVolt story is a perfect candidate. We've been following Neil Young's crazy retro next-gen conveyance since its inception in 2008, and sadly the news of late has not been good. Just a few weeks after the car (and its proprietor) made an appearance at SEMA it (the car) was left unattended while charging in a warehouse. The pearly white land yacht caught fire and nearly burned the place down, but enough was able to be salvaged for the team to start a rebuild, largely thanks to not one but two donor 1958 and '59 Lincoln Continentals that will be providing the necessary panels and parts to replace those destroyed in the fire. You can see the pre-fire car and some highlights from SEMA in the video below, though you'll have to wait until summer to see it looking that good again.
2009 Gran Turismo Awards choose 1970 Ford Mustang 'Trans-Cammer' for inclusion in GT5
The 1970 Ford Mustang "Trans-Cammer" you see above will soon be getting the digital treatment in Gran Turismo 5 after taking home this year's Gran Turismo Award honor at SEMA. For the seventh year in a row, a handful of judges (including Gran Turismo 5 lead Kazunori Yamauchi) chose a car from the auto event for inclusion in an upcoming Gran Turismo title. Yamauchi said of the event, "We have been very pleased with the high quality of vehicles vying for the award the past seven years, and look forward to having this 1970 Ford Mustang 'Trans-Cammer' join our list of distinguished past winners as part of the Gran Turismo franchise." The 1970 Ford Mustang "Trans-Cammer" by Philip Koenen follows Marcel Horn's HPA Audi TT in 2007 and Brian Filoteo's high-performance Infiniti G37 in 2008, both seen below in the gallery. [Image credit] %Gallery-77804%%Gallery-71410%
Gran Turismo 5 cost roughly $60 million to develop
At the annual SEMA car show in Las Vegas this week, Gran Turismo 5 creative lead Kazunori Yamauchi was on-hand demoing his game for showgoers and talking to the press. Amidst a torrent of questions from Autoweek, Yamauchi roughly calculated the cost of creating Gran Turismo 5: a cool $60 million. That's what five years of development on a single game has cost Polyphony Digital thus far, an amount Yamauchi says was totally justified in order to "get it right." "We threw away the legacy code from GT4 and started from scratch ... It's been five years from [the release of] GT4, and that's the same amount of time it took to develop the first GT4." And rather than dodging the reasoning behind the lack of a solid GT5 release date anywhere outside of Japan, Yamauchi flatly offered, "That's more depending on SCEA marketing decisions." Allow us to venture a guess – first half of 2010, perhaps?%Gallery-71410%[Via VGChartz]
Mavizen's electric bike hits 130 MPH, ships with Linux and WiFi
Mavizen, the manufacturing arm of the TTXGP (the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix -- a race for zero-emissions motorcycles) has just announced the TTX02 at this year's SEMA. A shining example of "EVs as consumer electronics" (the buzz-concept going 'round the electric vehicle scene) this guy is being billed not as a bike, but as a development platform -- shipping not only with a chassis and drivetrain, but with an open source Linux OS, web server, USB-based system bus, and WiFi connectivity. If you're looking to give the gang from Mission Motors a run for their money at the next TTXGP, hit the read link -- about $41,000 will get you in the game. Videos after the break.
Garmin EcoRoutes ESP module turns your GPS into car sentinel
Get ready to tech up your driving experience, as Garmin has unveiled a new accessory for its nuvi line of GPS devices that lets you add a number of customizable gauges and monitoring utilities. The new ESP module tucks into the OBD-II diagnostics port on your car and communicates (via Bluetooth) all-important data like intake air temperatures and the fuel efficiency of your driving to the nuvi up top. Yea, it's been done before, but Garmin is (for the time being) a major force in navigation devices and could truly popularize this should there be enough interest. For our money, it's both a neat and geeky way to expand the functionality of the now threatened satnav species. The full dish on price and availability can be expected at CES 2010 this coming January.
Chrysler 300 sports display-equipped wheels at SEMA
One may wonder how on Earth a wheel manufacturer can top the sheer gaudiness displayed on the world's biggest spinners, but apparently, somebody's already all over it. Shown at SEMA 2007, the pictured Chrysler 300 was sporting a set of LED-equipped wheels (PimpStar, anyone?), each of which contained its own (effectively worthless) color display. Unfortunately, all we have to go by is a short video (posted after the jump, if you dare) which incorrectly calls the car a Bentley, so as you may expect, we've no idea how much coin these will demand. But then again, your money would probably be better spent on in-car electronics -- or pretty much anything else, to be frank.
