Chevrolet makes a NASCAR of Blazer EV

Go big or go home, or so the saying goes. It’s something Chevrolet has certainly taken to heart with its latest concept. Underneath this Blazer EV.R is actually a Next Gen NASCAR chassis (the regulations used since 2022), complete with suspension hardware as well, only instead of a 5.8-litre V8 and sequential gearbox, this NASCAR has a 78kWh battery. And three motors. And 1,300hp. 

Why? Well, Chevrolet has a new Blazer SS on sale, which is also battery-powered, and how best to draw attention to a new model? Motorsport, of course. Whether people love it or hate it, you can bet that seeing the Blazer EV.R at the Daytona 500 of all places will make more folk aware of the showroom model than knew about it beforehand. The latter is serving as the pace car as well, for a two-pronged approach. From a Brit perspective, the EV.R features a livery like the old BTCC Chevrolet Cruzes, so that’s fun. 

Chevrolet says that the trio of six-phase electric motors instantly rev up to 15,000rpm and deliver more than 1,300hp. The tyres are Goodyear Racing Eagles, with the Chevy apparently having ‘worked closely with NASCAR and other manufacturers on the parameters and technical elements of the prototype.’ So it isn’t just a Blazer body dumped on top of racing architecture, or a thinly disguised NASCAR. The EV.R gets an all-new shell designed to incorporate design elements of the production model while also ensuring the best in aero and performance. It has been tested extensively in both the virtual and real world, the latter at Carolina Motorsports Park. This is very much pitched as an electrification test bed, to see where the technology can improve for Chevy road cars, not merely a static model. As it stands, the SS is a 615hp flagship, but wouldn’t it be cool if the NASCAR prototype could provide some useful information about regen, efficiency, weight and so on? Perhaps not the conventional route from race to road, but still an interesting one. 

“NASCAR and its manufacturer partners are passionate about emerging technologies, and working to remain on the forefront of innovation,” said Brandon Thomas, NASCAR vice pres, vehicle design. “With the Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype, Chevrolet and its engineers meshed new technologies with the NASCAR Next Gen platform – and the result is a powerful, exciting vehicle that we believe fans will love when they see it at Daytona International Speedway.” A very different prospect to the NASCAR norm, then, but it ought to be pretty damn fast…