Chevrolet’s eCOPO Camaro Concept unveiled at this year’s SEMA show may look somewhat tame, but its 750 electric horsepower geared to the rear wheels beg to differ. And to silence the critics of this high-voltage variant, Chevrolet released a video of it performing one of the smokiest burnouts we’ve ever seen. However, this one can be enjoyed on mute.
Even though the footage is only about 30 seconds long, the eCOPO puts on quite the smoke show courtesy of two individual Borg Warner HVH250-150 electric power units sending shockwaves onto the pavement. Of course, the faint noise that can be heard emanating from the car, just before the soundtrack takes over, is the symphony of destruction being played by the shredding rubber. The hushed burnout can be somewhat bizarre to some folks since the electric Camaro sounds more like a weedwhacker than a fully dressed drag car, but there’s no denying that it’s got massive power.
Burnout aside, don’t expect the electric eCOPO to show up at the track anytime soon unless it’s on display by the Chevrolet marketing team. The eCOPO concept appears to be more of a SEMA show car than anything else, and the American automaker is making it a point to add “not for sale” to the promotional photos and video.
The real point of the electric COPO is to show that there is a place for electrification in the high-performance market. With the exception of the motors that replace the engine, it’s not much different than any other COPO Camaro. It even has the bolt pattern to use any LS-adaptable General Motors transmission currently available. What’s more realistic than a line of EV Camaros is the expectation that electric motors will be used alongside gasoline engines for better efficiency and even more power.