If you’re into classic muscle cars, you’ve probably heard of Hot Rod’s 1957 Chevrolet, usually called “Project X.” It cost $250 to buy in 1965, and since then, it has been powered by several engines with the newest and best upgrades. The outlet stopped using internal combustion entirely in 2021 when it worked with Chevrolet Performance to make the engine electric. It was driven by a single electric motor with 340 horsepower. Traditionalists were furious, mainly because they chose battery power over a powerful LSX V8. Online commenters were upset, and I’m sure Hot Rod also got a lot of fan mail about it. On the other hand, Project X now has a V8. This time, it’s a 632-cubic-inch big-block Chevy with 1,004 horsepower, so the process of making up has started. Both the electric version of Project X and the ZZ632 crate engine came out in the same year, and Hot Rod admits that there were some fundamental differences of opinion among car fans. A Sunday Hot Rod story said, “Some might call this a mulligan, which is a golf term for when you mess up a shot so badly that your friends feel sorry for you and act like it never happened.” We can see why people might think that based on the apparent hostility we saw when we did an EV switch on Project X. They’d be wrong. Our yellow 1957 Chevy has been a project for more than 50 years. The EV switch on X was just another part of its long history of drivetrains. The Project X news post says that this isn’t the first time a power plant has lived in the yellow Chevy, and it won’t be the last. Hot Rod wants to keep the car updated for a long time. Even though we’ve seen in recent years that current powertrain technology can make much more than 340 hp, it’s likely to go electric again. The valuable building will keep running, thanks to Chevrolet’s top-of-the-line speed engine. All that power is made without forced induction, making it the most potent box from the bowtie brand. It does cost more than a complete V8 Camaro, but you know what they say about prices.
