The 2019 Formula D season will be unlike any other
thanks to the inclusion of one car in particular: Napoleon Motorsports’ EL1
Camaro. That’s because, unlike all other entrants in the drifting
championship, the Camaro EL1 isn’t powered by some kind of brutish internal
combustion engine. Instead, it is an all-electric and will be piloted by
professional drifter Travis Reeder.
To create the EL1, Napoleon Motorsports started out
with a standard Camaro and proceeded to remove its conventional engine and
transmission. They have been replaced by an electric powertrain with a 38.4 kWh
battery and an electric motor producing 515 hp and 1084 Nm of
torque. As the crew from Donut Media explain, those figures are more than
enough to spin up the rear wheels.
As it doesn’t feature a traditional manual gearbox,
Waters won’t be able to clutch kick, one of the most important techniques in
drifting. Fortunately, Napoleon Motorsports thought of this and says combining
the handbrake with the immense torque of the electric powertrain is all that’s
needed to get the car sliding.
Most drift cars we’re familiar with sound absolutely
insane thanks to straight-through exhaust systems and other modifications.
Clearly, the EL1 Camaro will be silent and the only sound will be that of the
screaming tires, but whether we like it or not, this could prove to be a
glimpse into what the future of drifting, and probably motorsports in general,
will be like.
