Chevrolet brought a very unique pickup truck to SEMA that is a sweet blend of the company’s rich history and the ‘electrifying’ future. Called the E-10 concept, the product has reincarnated from a 1962 Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck. If you’ve been following the concepts at SEMA this year, you will immediately strike a comparison with the Dodge Lowliner. However, this low-slung pickup truck comes with an electric powertrain under the hood. So, does this bold truck live up to the hype it has created over the last couple of days? It sure does!

Chevrolet E-10 Concept Drivetrain

The E-10 pickup truck is powered by an electric Connect & Cruise concept package that could be the stepping stone to the future of crate propulsion systems. As Russ O’Blenes, director of Performance Variants, Parts & Motorsports, puts it, “the E-10 Concept builds on the experience and momentum generated by last year’s eCOPO Concept, taking the idea of a ‘crate’ electric propulsion system further by leveraging actual production components. It’s all still in the testing stage, but this concept brings the electric option for hot rodders much closer to reality”.

It replaces the C-10’s original gasoline engine, and is said to be s a unique assembly that is built into a modular housing and can stack up to three motor assemblies at a time. The reinvigorated pickup truck with the two eCrate motors makes approximately 450 horses. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a conventional SuperMatic 4L75-E four-speed automatic transmission. Powering the motors is a pair of 60-kWh battery packs borrowed from the Bolt EV. Chevy says that the E-10 concept could sprint to 60 mph from a standstill in about five seconds, and hit the quarter miles in the “high 13-second range”. Chevrolet has not announced the range figures, but the EPA rates Bolt EV’s 60 kWh battery pack at 238 miles. So, in the E-10, we are roughly looking at 400-450 miles on a single charge. Other than the battery packs, the entire system uses existing production components from the Bolt EV.

Chevrolet E-10 Concept specifications

Here comes the best (or worst, depending on your view) part: the E-10 concept features a sound emulator complete with three speakers to simulate an induction sound to fit in with other hot rods on the road! One is placed at the front while two speakers are housed in the back of the vehicle. The emulator has five different sounds to choose from. The five sounds include LS7 Z28 track tuning, LS7 Z28 touring turning, a V-8 engine, a futuristic sound, or go silent. Chevy says that the sounds will automatically adjust to the changing of the gears and mimicking an internal combustion engine while doing so.

Chevrolet E-10 Concept Exterior

Up front, the E-10 is basically split into three distinctly different parts. Starting from the bottom, the fancy truck features a simple bumper painted in the same metallic orange shade as the rest of the body. Right above the bumper is a wide, black slim grille that houses two circular LED headlights as well as a small bowtie emblem that backlit. Right above the bowtie is a horizontal slat that connects to the headlights and has ‘CHEVROLET’ embossed on it. Above the grille is the huge hood cover that is sculpted with prominent creases on it. These lines give the E-10 concept a very butch look. The upright windshield features two inversely mounted wipers finished in chrome. This is the only part, other than the badges, where you can find chrome on the truck.

The same design language continues on the side profile as well. The single cab truck has with forward-leaning A-pillars, something that defies the laws of aerodynamics. Thanks to this arrangement along with a massive windshield at the front, the windows are tiny. It is probably just a tad bit bigger than the windows on an aircraft. The Chevrolet E-10 rides on 20-inch wheels in the front and 22-inch wheels in the rear. The wheels have a vintage touch to them and are detailed with enormous intricacies. The gunmetal finish suits the overall persona of the truck quite well. Being a low riding truck, it does not come with any side-steps or rockers. In fact, the doors and the side of the truck bed shrink slightly towards the inside at the bottom.

The batteries are covered with a tonneau cover held by two struts on either end. The tailgate comes with a black insert in the middle that has the bowtie logo slapped on it. There is a small windshield at the rear of the cab, but it is not sliding. LED taillights are vertically stacked on either side with reverse lights placed separately. The bumper houses the number plate in the middle and has two huge cutouts next to them. Overall, the hot-rod in an electric avatar looks swell.

Chevrolet E-10 Concept Interior

Chevrolet is yet to release any updates on the interior. The rest of the cabin is restored and features leather-trimmed seats. Speaking of the original 1962 Chevy C-10, it featured a bench seat with manual window operators. The huge instrument cluster almost sticks to the windshield and similarly shaped glove box is placed on the passenger side. There are a few buttons on either side of the steering wheel to control the wipers and other limited accessories. The steering wheel itself is quite big in size with two long stalks poking from the unit. I wonder how much of this is retained as Chevrolet has been discreet about it. We should see images of the cabin pouring out soon.

Final Thoughts

The E-10 concept’s main purpose was to showcase the Connect and Cruise concept systems and it has succeeded for sure. Chevrolet is known for its performance crate engines, so it’s nice to see it implement the same concept in the electric field as well. To top it all off, Chevy used a 1962 C-10 as the basis and that triggered a sense of nostalgia as well. So, a vintage truck that showcases modern technologies? Chevrolet couldn’t have nailed this any better. However, more details about the truck, like the cabin specs, range, etc. would’ve been even better. The company brought the truck to the SEMA show along with John Force Edition 2020 COPO Camaro race car and nearly two dozen additional Chevrolet concepts and show vehicles. The SEMA show began on November 5 and will go on till November 8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.