Did you know that the wheelbase difference between a Tesla Model S and a 2000s Honda Odyssey minivan is just 1.6 inches? Well, now you do, and the guys over at the YouTube channel BoostedBoiz have everything to do with this weird fact of the day.
Some of you may already be familiar with the workings of the aforementioned video creators, as one of their previous creations involved a wrecked 2020 Tesla Model S Plaid that went through an extreme weight-shedding process that eventually made it the world’s lightest Model S, tipping the scales at 3,850 pounds.
The combination of instantaneous torque, 1,020 horsepower from the Plaid’s tri-motor setup, and the low weight also meant the gutted EV ran an 8.83-second quarter mile at some point. But there’s only so much you can do with a kart-like machine.
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Photo source: Kyle Wade / Body Swaps – Unibody Chassis and Body Swaps Facebook Group
So here’s where the Honda Odyssey comes into play. As one of the guys in the video embedded above mentions, he’s had an idea of putting the body of the beloved American minivan on top of a Tesla Model S chassis for a couple of years. But it’s only now that they got to make that dream a reality.
First, the boys took a fire-damaged Model S and a $500 junkyard Odyssey to see if the two would even be a good fit together. And guess what? After several days of cutting and test-fitting, the washed-out minivan body proved to be a great shell for the all-electric base, thanks in no small part to that 1.6-inch wheelbase difference.
But it wasn’t exactly a plug-and-play kind of thing, so work continued to put the body on top of the working gutted Plaid that managed sub-9-second runs on the drag strip. Angle iron retainers and extensions were fabricated to bolt the steel body on top of the aluminum Tesla chassis, and a brand-new windscreen was also put in place of the old, cracked one.
The car looks like a regular 2001 Honda Odyssey from the outside and–except for the Unplugged Performance wheels and Plaid brake calipers–gives no hint of what lies beneath. Inside, however, it’s a different story, as is usually the case with extreme builds like this one.
The original 2020 Tesla Model S dashboard, yoke steering wheel, and front seats are part of the picture, but that’s about it, at least for the moment. The guys who did all the work say that they’ll continue to integrate as many Model S components as possible, but as things stand today, there are no rear seats, the rear doors don’t work because the bottom latch had to be cut off, the windows don’t work, and the lights don’t do what they’re supposed to. But the original hood latch was retrofitted and it can even open the slab of junkyard metal from the central touchscreen, which is nice.
Go ahead and watch the hour-long video embedded above and let us know what you think about this unconventional build in the comments below. There’s also another video with the so-called Plaidessey where the guys who built it take the minivan-bodied EV for a cruise to a local parts store and a fast food joint.
