make is working on an electric sports car.
It hasn’t offered any details on one, but it’s safe to assume that it is because the automaker has pledged to go all-electric by 2035.
It has also released a teaser animation showing off the flexibility of the Ultium electric vehicle platform that will underpin all of its future electric models, from SUVs to pickups and one vehicle that looks suspiciously like a Chevrolet Camaro.
When asked about it during an appearance on The Fox Garage, GM President Mark Reuss wouldn’t confirm such a model is on the way, but he did explain how the Ultium architecture is being set up to accommodate one.
(GM)
The Ultrium battery pack is comprised of pouch-type cells, rather than the cylindrical ones used by some automakers including Tesla. They look like thin planks of metal and are stacked like files in a cabinet in the Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq SUV that will be the first vehicles to use it, but can be twisted 90 degrees and flat-packed instead.
(GM)
Reuss said that’s how they will be used in the upcoming hand-made Cadillac Celestiq flagship sedan that was teased in January, which will be a low-roof car, rather than a utility vehicle.
“What we’ve done with those modules and cells is put those on their sides, to get the H-point [hip point] down, and get the roofline down on the car.”
“So that car is a very low-roof car and that sort of sets up that variant of the Ultium platform.”
Considering the current Camaro is built on the same internal combustion engine platform as Cadillac’s current sedans, it’s not much of a stretch (or shrink) to see how a future electric one could do the same.
“Lots of things being looked at, studied, designed, engineered … but I can tell you that the platform is absolutely capable of doing just about everything we want in our portfolio across every segment,” Reuss said.
Chevrolet has already built one electric Camaro. The eCopo drag car was a conventional Camaro unveiled in 2018 that had its V8 swapped for a 700 hp electric powertrain to help develop and demonstrate GM’s eCrate electric motor conversion kit that is now available as an aftermarket kit.
There’s no telling how powerful a production electric Camaro will be, but the Hummer EV will be offered with up to 1,000 hp, so there are plenty of electric horses waiting in the stable.
You can watch the full interview with Mark Reuss on The Fox Garage above
