Some Genius Built An Electric Corvette By Gluing The Body Onto A BMW i3 Frame

Yesterday at the masterpiece that was the Galpin Car Show, someone brought in an electric vehicle conversion so brilliant I almost needed a paper bag to control my breathing. It was a first-gen Corvette that had been glued and also bolted to the frame of a BMW i3. While I don’t have a ton of details showing exactly how it was done, here’s just a quick look at this incredible machine.

The cool thing about the BMW i3 that many people don’t realize is that, unlike pretty much any modern small car, it’s technically a body-on-frame design. The body is a ridiculously lightweight carbon fiber “Life Module” that you and I could easily carry, the body panels are plastic pieces that just snap onto that carbon body, and underneath it all — holding the powertrain, suspension, and battery — is an aluminum “Drive Module” that includes some pretty sizable castings.

It’s basically a “frame,” and it’s quite a masterpiece, as I’ve mentioned far, far too many times. Have a look:

As for as EV conversions go, the BMW i3 platform is not one commonly used, and I’m not entirely sure why. I bet many folks think it’d be silly to use just the Drive Module when the real pièce de résistance was the carbon fiber Life Module. But oftentimes i3s get into wrecks that crack the carbon fiber, totalling the vehicle — partly because BMW i3s have just become so cheap.

To find a totaled i3 on Copart is quite easy; and with a minty-fresh version of these cars selling for under $10 grand, you know the totaled cars are going for pennies:

So I’m surprised I don’t see more BMW i3s being used as donor cars for EV conversions. One great candidate, as I learned at the Galpin Car Show, is the gen 1 Chevy Corvette, which has a wheelbase less than an inch away from the i3’s.

One enterprising Californian, shown below pointing out all the stuff normally founder under the hood of the i3 (cooling system/HVAC components, as well as the 12-volt battery, brake system, power electronics, and on and on):

In the rear, under the trunk lid is the electric motor and gasoline range extender:

Here’s Huibert using his eyes to create a 3-D CAD model in his brain:

Check out the skinny, stock tires:

If you look closely at the wheels you’ll see a Chevy center cap:

What I found most interesting was the cabin. This particular gen-1 Corvette looked to be some kind of race-inspired, aftermarket-bodied machine, with just space for a single driver. Remarkably, pretty much all cabin controls from the i3s were somehow shoved into that small space. You can see the small gauge cluster screen ahead of the steering wheel:

The entire HVAC/radio unit is off to the right of the driver:

And between the two is the shifter and the iDrive controller:

It looks like an old Corvette on the outside, but it’s an i3 underneath, and — per the owner, who told me he basically glued the body onto the car using BMW’s own glue, which apparently cost an arm and a leg — the thing is quick. 

And with the range extender, I bet it’s quite practical, as the donor was a 2020 car, which normally goes about 150 miles on the battery and 75 miles on the gas generator.

It was easily a top-10 car for me at the Galpin Car Show, and that’s saying a lot, because the show was absolutely bonkers. More on it soon.