I need you to be a hero. You need to stop what you’re doing right now and give $6,000 to whoever has listed this EV-swapped manual Saturn SL2 in North Carolina. I’m really not sure what would possess someone to spend the time and energy necessary to to put an electric motor and battery in a 2002 Saturn, but damn I am glad they did it. The fact they left the five-speed manual in place makes it even better.
According to the seller on Facebook Marketplace, the conversion was done back in 2017, and since then it has only done about 1,000 miles of driving, so it’s got a lot of life left to live. This SL2 has been outfitted with a 144 Volt lithium battery pack that uses Nissan Leaf cells, an HPEVS AC-51 motor, a Curtis 1239e motor control, an Orion BMS and a Thunderstruck charger than is either 120 Volt or J1772 compatible. Of course, as a cherry on top, it has the SL2’s original 5-speed manual and clutch. Fantastic.
Even as just a car, this light blue 2002 SL2 looks really clean for something build nearly 23 years ago. Admittedly, there aren’t too many pictures to go by, but the body seems to be mostly damage free and the interior looks nearly factory fresh. The seller doesn’t say how many miles were on the car when it was first converted back in 2017.
Someone did a really good job swapping this thing. Unless you popped the hood or looked in the trunk, there’s very little to suggest this isn’t just a normal, well taken care of SL2. The only thing that gives away that something is amiss is some sort of meter mounted on the dashboard above the climate control vents. Under the hood you’ll find the motor and other electric drive components with plenty of high-voltage wiring. Then, out back in the trunk, you can see the battery pack and some other electronics that keep this SL2 running. All in all, it’s a super clean conversion.
I don’t really know the practical applications of a car like this. There’s no indicator of range or charge times or anything like that, but as a curiosity, this is a very neat little package. I also have no idea what sort of performance it has. A quick look at HPEVS’s website says its AC-51 motor should produce about 88 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque. That won’t win any races, and it means it’s actually down a bit on power from the 124 horsepower and 122 lb-ft of torque the SL2’s original 1.9-liter four popper made, but who the hell cares? This is way cooler.
To me, $6,000 is a small price to pay to be the most interesting guy at any Cars & Coffee you show up to.
