EV West’s All-Electric BMW M3 E36 Makes 850 Lb-Ft of Torque at the Wheels

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2013 |

Some say that a true performance EV cannot be fully realized with today’s technology. They argue that the added weight of batteries makes handling and braking worse, and that the lack of engine noise detracts from the experience of driving.

But now, with cars like the Tesla Model Sreceiving praise for their performance, it’s definitely worth watching the video below – it’s Drive's drive of EV West’s Pikes Peak-ready BMW E36 M3, which has been converted to run on electricity.

The car is built like a stripped-out racing car from the ground up, and it gets one of the most thorough roll cage setups we’ve seen in modified cars of this kind - this is essentially an old BMW, after all. However, it needs this kind of construction, so that the chassis doesn’t twist under the strain of not the output (342hp at the rear wheels) but the 850 lb-ft of torque (1,150 Nm) at the wheels - that essentially means whoever will be driving this will be doing a lot of unplanned burnouts.

At the end of the drive, though, the reviewer Matt Farah says he is not convinced by this sort of car because of the arguments mentioned in the opening paragraph of this piece. Do you think EV performance cars and conversions like this are relevant? We also added one of EV West's own videos to help you make up your mind.

By Andrei Nedelea

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