From a chrome steel Tesla Optimus to an electrical DeLorean, new Polestar EVs, and even a tail-sliding journey in a Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, the final Electrify Expo of the 2024 season had one thing for everybody (particularly for those who like Cybertrucks).
For the uninitiated, Electrify Expo is a form of touring music pageant — besides, as an alternative of varied levels and bands, it units up a lot of distinctive tracks, avenue drives, and closed course “experiences” which are populated not by bands, however by the most recent EVs out of your favourite manufacturers. And this previous weekend, Electrify Expo closed out its 2024 season with a cease at Circuit of the Americas, they usually have been sort sufficient to ask me to test it out.
Right here’s the rundown.
So. Many. Cybertrucks.
Sure, it’s Texas. And sure, it’s an EV expo that highlights customized vehicles in the identical means that Sizzling Import Nights did again within the 90s and early aughts. Nonetheless, nothing ready for the sheer variety of Tesla Cybertruck “tuner vehicles” on show.
All the pieces from polished metal to rainbow wraps to off-roaders was there — one man even had a “digital exhaust” on his that sounded a bit like a anemic leaf blower. Past those proven right here (plus just a few extra), there have been one other dozen “plain Jane” Cybertrucks filling up sales space house for house photo voltaic, EV charging gear, and prolonged guarantee corporations. Even Tesla had a half-dozen or so Cybertucks readily available for demo drives, permitting anybody with a driver’s license to take to the storied F1 circuit behind the wheel of Elon’s boxiest experience.
In case your solely publicity to vehicles was the Electrify Expo, you’d stroll away pondering they have been the best-selling automobiles on this planet.
Individuals need Restomods to be a factor
These electrical DeLorean (a couple of) and Subaru Brat tasks in all probability look acquainted to longtime Electrek readers, however whether or not they do or don’t they have been just some of the various EV conversions on show within the Electrify Showoff space that invited native EV house owners to point out off their distinctive, electrified rides.
Extra stunning than the presence of so many Restomods at an occasion like this, nonetheless, was how adamant their builders have been that The Reply™️ to the issue of dangerous carbon emissions wasn’t constructing new EVs, however changing all (they usually imply all) the present ICE vehicles into EVs.
Actually.
The OEMs
The actual purpose folks flock to Electrify Expo — they usually do, greater than 20,000 folks confirmed as much as the Austin occasion and that was one in every of eight stops nationally — is to take a look at the newest EVs from the OEMs.
To that finish, Porsche had its newest Macan EV, GMC had each the Hummer EV and Sierra Denali EV, Polestar had the 3 and 4 fashions on show, and Lucid even confirmed off an early manufacturing Gravity mannequin. A Rivian R2, new Lexus PHEV, and a stainless steel-skinned model of Optimus rounded out my favorites there — however it wasn’t nearly seeing these vehicles. It was about driving them.
See, in contrast to a conventional auto present the place you’ll be able to stroll round some static automobiles and possibly sit in them, Electrify Expo lets attendees really drive these automobiles. Typically round a race monitor like COTA, typically on public roads, and typically on devoted “experiential” tracks purpose-built to showcase the automotive’s distinctive skills.
In case you’ve ever seen a dirt-focused impediment course with Jeeps operating round it at your native auto present, you get the concept. And, whereas the identical form of factor exists at Electrify, I’ve at hand it to Ford for taking it to the following stage with a brand new Mustang Mach-E Rally pushed by skilled driver on a closed, 90-second -ish rally course simply off the primary parking zone.
Ford set the tone
The very first thing most attendees noticed once they obtained to the occasion was an eerily quiet, high-speed show of lurid, tail-wagging slides courtesy of the brand new Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally. By 9AM on the second day, a full hour earlier than opening time, there was already a line forming to expertise the Mach-E. Such was the facility of the word-of-mouth and social media affect surrounding this occasion.
Having some rally expertise, I wasn’t fairly certain what to anticipate — however the quiet was surreal. In an ICE automotive doing stuff like this, the sound of the engine offers you some indication of what the driving force is doing. In an EV? Within the Mustang? You haven’t any concept. All you are able to do is strap in and really feel the gs, then let your mind type out what occurred later.
And the remainder
If you’re an EV pageant, you’re there to see all of it — from e-bikes and electrical scooters all the best way as much as one-off SEMA specials like Neil Tjin’s Mustang Mach-E, ultrafast Formila E racecars, a pack of BMW CE02 electrical bikes, a brand new Sur-Ron fashion e-bike from GoTrax, and even a Pickman micro truck.
Truthfully, for those who ever get to one in every of these, belief me — plan on spending the entire day there. In the event that they do it once more in 2025, I do know I’ll.
Authentic content material from Electrek; photographs by the writer.
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