KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Students studying at Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab in Kansas City, Missouri, hope to finish converting a muscle car into an electric vehicle in time for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to drive the car to a playoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It’s a huge upgrade from where we started,” said Amir Kane.
Kane and other students from Hogan Preparatory Academy, De La Salle Center, Operation Breakthrough and MINDDRIVE began work on the 1969 Chevelle SS in late 2021.
Once completed, organizers believe they will be the first group of students in the country to convert a muscle car into an electric vehicle. Along the way, the students can earn industry certifications for mechanical skills and college credit.
The chief program officer for MINDDRIVE says conversions of this sort can take up to four years. The best part for him is seeing students take concepts from geometry or other classes and apply them to real-life situations.
“They don’t have a problem doing math when you’re trying to figure out a steering angle on a car or how to figure out the right voltage or amperages going to the electric motor,” said Oz Qureshi of MINDDRIVE.
Kelce’s foundation 87 & Running helped fund the Ignition Lab at a former auto repair garage near 30th Street and Troost Avenue.
The tight end has visited the site and helped Kane and others with the car in 2021.
