There are no caveats or loopholes, either — do anything to tune your e-bike for more speed or power and you could feel the wrath of the new law, known as French statutory provision L317-1. The rules also apply to importers, distributors and dealers.

As Electrek notes, E-bike speeds are subject to regulation throughout the EU, but the top speed limit for standard e-bike power in France is 25 km/h (15.5mph), which is relatively slow, even compared to pedal bikes (speed pedelecs, meanwhile, count as a special class of bike and are permitted up to 45 km/h). It’s no surprise, then, that riders are modifying their wheels, either by changing display settings or making modifications to hardware such as speed sensors. Typically, e-bikes will come with two settings for European and US markets. As US regulations permit speeds up to 32 km/h, it’s not unusual for European riders to tweak their settings for extra power.

E-bikes are popular in France, but riders don’t always use helmets, and obviously, higher-speed crashes are more dangerous. E-bikes and scooters (which France has also cracked down on) have proven to be a hazard for pedestrians — an issue officials are trying to curb ahead of municipal elections in cities such as Paris. It’s unlikely that such harsh punishments will be imposed to the full extent of the law — particularly since the law will prove challenging to enforce — but they’re certainly designed to discourage hot rodding, and suggest that France won’t be afraid to make an example of individuals to show they mean business.

The truck has a three-speaker sound emulator that mimics the two banks of a V8 engine in the back, and induction in the front. It automatically adjusts to gear changes, and can even emulate different engines that include a generic V8 as well as two versions of the LS7 Z28 (tuned for touring and the track). You can also choose a “futuristic” sound or plain silence if you’re more comfortable with electric power.

This isn’t a completely from-scratch design. Chevy borrowed both the power electronics and two battery packs from the Bolt EV. That saved the automaker development time, of course, but the independent arrangement of the batteries promises both more power and longer range. The company won’t say what that range is, but it’s safe to presume you’d have enough range to get home after showing off your ride at the local meetup.

It won’t surprise you to hear that there’s no plans make a production E-10. What you see here was up and running in less than five months. This does, however, illustrate the potential future for both electric crate motor tech and hot rod trucks. And this early experimentation might be necessary. When numerous governments both in the US and abroad expect to ban sales of fossil fuel cars in the next two decades, it may become increasingly difficult to source gas engines for hot rods.