Ford made big headlines awhile back about its Eluminator EV crate motor. Essentially, Ford offers the same electric drive units seen in the Mustang Mach E as standalone products, so that tuners can put them in older cars and do retro EV swaps. Now, GM is going to be doing the same, offering its own EV powertrains as crate motors for tuners. Which got me thinking: should BMW do the same?
When Ford debuted the Eluminator, it was a cool idea but came with a few complications, namely the need to source a battery and electronics, figure out how to wire everything, and tune it all. However, GM is said to be offering a more comprehensive package, which not only comes with the necessary electronics but also training on how to install it. It’s an incredibly interesting package for tuners that want to make retro EV swaps, as well as enthusiasts who might have an old muscle car with a bad engine and want to give it new life. BMW should seriously consider looking into this.
BMW has one of the more advanced electric drive units on the market. It features all the requisite electronics and one-speed transmission, while also being relatively light and compact. It isn’t as impressive as Lucid’s drive unit but it’s pretty darn good. Allowing customers to buy it, preferably with all the extra bits needed to complete the swap, would be really cool. It would allow customers to create all sorts of interesting creations.
Just imagine the ability for tuning shops to fit a BMW eDrive unit into an old 3.0 CS, or 2002, or even an E30 M3? The possibilities would be endless and incredibly exciting. Classic cars will have the ability to live on long after internal combustion engines are phased out, thanks to EV swaps. At the moment, EV swaps are pretty tricky, as they usually require sourcing powertrains and batteries from wrecked EVs. However, car companies like Ford and GM are doing good work by making it easier. BMW could, and likely should, do the same.
