Ice T - V8 powered Tesla. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

davidmash · #1 09-23-2025, 11:34 PM

This is the only tesla I would ever sit in or drive. I love the color and it sounds amazing.

https://ccdiscussion.com/t/2021-rich-rebuilds-tesla-model-s-ice-t/64845

Quote:

The story starts with a flooded 2015 Model S which he brought and intended to restore. After completely stripping it down and thoroughly cleaning every component, Rich had a sudden attack of altruism and sent several front-end parts to a friend who was also restoring one. Moreover, finding a new battery for the car was as difficult as bringing peace to the Middle East, so he got the outrageous idea of fitting a V8 into it.

Since he owns a Corvette Z06 and identifies as an “LS snob”, Rich ended up sourcing a 6.2-liter LS3, a six-speed TR 6060 manual, a rear end, and several other parts from a fifth-generation Camaro SS.

Fitting an LS into another ICE-powered vehicle is not that hard, if you know what you’re doing, of course. Converting one of these vehicles to electric power isn’t hard either but, putting a V8 into a Tesla and making it all functional was considered impossible by many, which is why nobody had ever done it before.

To make this incredible swap possible, the next six months were spent modifying the aluminum chassis which was sourced from another wrecked Model S. The bulk of the work went into strengthening and modifying the chassis. A transmission tunnel had to be fabricated from scratch, while the front and rear sections were heavily modified to make room for the Chevy engine and rear end.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-story-of-ice-t-the-worlds-first-tesla-with-a-chevy-v8-under-the-hood-174774.html