Holley ‘High Voltage Experience:’ Celebrating EV the Bay Area Way
Strategically nestled right at the crown of Silicon Valley, Holley Perfomance’s event packs drifting, auto cross and dragstrip fun for all.
Electric vehicle events, for the most part, lack exhilaration. They typically focus on industry, are informative rather than interactive and don’t delve much into aftermarket side of things.
Holley chose Sonoma Raceway for its first-ever “High Voltage Experience–a clever choice, no less. It’s not only an important foray into the EV segment (business-wise), but also a crucial step in connecting with the broader EV community. Especially since interest for EVs is growing at very rapid pace.
California has a rather large adoption of EVs compared to the rest of the US, so naturally, you’d have a larger concentration of enthusiasts here. Not to mention the San Francisco Bay Area remains the tech capital of the world.
Not surprisingly, it paid off.
Between custom Teslas and EV motor swaps, the event offers no shortage of exciting and interesting builds to interact with. There was also a seminar on Best of all, it’s got something for everyone to enjoy.
HVE’s format is similar to other Holley festivals; drag racing, show-n-shine, skid pad/side show, auto-cross, etc. Still, HVE offers a unique look into how competitive EV sports, even on a pro-am level, really are.
Drag Strip
One of the best parts about Holley festivals are the quarter-mile dragstrip fun runs. Loud pipes and burnt rubber are always crowd pleasers, and these drag exhibitions at HVE were no different (sans “loud pipes,” of course).
Ford Performance jumped on the EV opportunity and brought the Cobra Jet 1400 (seen in the video above).
Despite chilly NorCal weather, it ran an impressive 7.8 on the quarter-mile on a freshly glued track. Again, not an official run but it certainly offers an incredible view of what these EVs can do.
Participants in Teslas and EV swaps ran the gauntlet, including a 1972 Plymouth Roadrunner “Electrollite” a 1958 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside by Conductive Works, and of course, the Camaro “EL1” by Napeoleon Motorsports.
Despite having no combustion, the track was still noisy from the burnout box to the timeslip booth, thanks to sticky pavement and grippy tires.
Holley Auto X & 3S Challenge
Quite a few participants also competed in the auto cross side of things, too. Teslas competed for most of the time trials, however there were EV-swaps too, including a Geo Metro, Mazda Miata and a Toyota 4Runner bobbing and weaving around the cones.
Skid pad
Northern California is the birthplace of the “sideshow,” and getting sideways in a loud and rowdy car is always a crowd attractant, regardless of what vehicle it is.
Holley tapped Napoleon Motorsports’ Camaro “EL1” and Formula D Pro Travis Reeder to offer sideshow entertainment in the jersey-barrier laden skid pad. Coming fresh off of a dragstrip run, the EL1 still had plenty of juice left in it to serve some smoky donuts to the crowds.
“We really focused on a building an EV Camaro that closely resembles the factory weight and distribution as much as possible,” said Joe Napoleon, chief principal for Napoleon Motorsports.
The reasoning, Napoleon explained, is that the torque production numbers between an electric motor and ICE are different. Where conventional engines follow more of a bell curve, EV motors deliver “squared-off” edge on the torque curve. “Nobody really knew how this car was going to compete, comparatively speaking,” said Napoleon.
The company then decided to hand it off to Holley and AEM to develop aftermarket components for the performance EV segment. The goal is to form a baseline for future generation hot rodding, which is why the EL1 is one such important bridge for both industry and the culture.
“This car is all about innovation and bringing new technology to the marketplace,” said Napoleon.
‘Switch Vehicles & Their Mission To Educate’
HVE also featured a seminar for those in the business (OEMs, auto shops, parts dealers etc.) and those DIYers. Switch Labs, based in Sebastopol, California, is a grassroots EV company most known for its build-your-own “EV Switch Kit,” part of a program that’s used in various schools in the U.S. and internationally.
Holley Dance Party Competition
Holley’s High Voltage Experience featured a live DJ for the entire event, blasting new age synthwave like Carpenter Brut, and of course, classics such as ‘Cars” by Gary Newman. While participants on the drag strip and auto cross vie for Holley-branded plaques, the kids got a chance to win prizes in a dance-off.
Those who had the slickest moves scored a Holley High Voltage tee. Of course, they just gave them all tees (for obvious reasons) but including the younger children in the festival fun is always a win.
Holley’s inaugural High Voltage Experience is a fantastic playground for EV enthusiasts, novices and professionals alike. It’s got charm, crowd energy, and most important of all, scalability. It’s probably safe to safe this one is here to stay.
Photos: Derin Richardson