Superformance MKIII-E Electric Cobra Prototype

The future of hot rodding is here, and it's still gnarly.

- By Scott Evans

Electric cars are boring and dumb, and putting an electric motor in a classic car would certainly ruin its character. Right? The Superformance MKIII-E all-electric Shelby Cobra replica says different: It's fun as hell.

Outwardly, the MKIII-E looks like a normal Cobra. Peek inside, though, and something's up: The oddball rearward mounted manual shifter is gone, the tachometer goes to 14,000 rpm, and the gauges have logos showing a charging cable circling the car's silhouette.

According to Superformance, this is its quickest Cobra ever, and tuning isn't even finalized yet. The rear axle is replaced by a Tesla Model S P100D rear motor, and a 31.2kWh battery pack is fitted to the reworked engine compartment. All in, the MKIII-E is said to be about 100 pounds lighter than Superformance's 427 V-8 model.

The motor makes 405 hp, and the company says it has 1,500 lb-ft of torque, but we suspect that's at the wheels, not at the motor. A P100D rear motor makes 503 hp and 525 lb-ft, and power is a mathematical function of torque. The good news, then, is Superformance can turn up the wick for customer cars.