The governing body of world motorsport, the FIA, has announced a revolutionary category of electric sports car racing designed to serve as a platform for manufacturers to develop road cars.
Running on permanent full-length circuits, the new riders will be based around the GT3 class, but the FIA promises that they will “overtake their combustion engine counterparts in areas such as acceleration and the pace of qualifying” . The time from 0 to 62 mph is estimated at 2.4 seconds and the top speed is 186 mph, with up to four motors allowed.
The FIA is convinced that the technical regulations will offer high watermarks to electric motorsport in terms of range and performance.
The body is keen to encourage competition from the two manufacturers with existing sports car programs as well as electric vehicle specialists who have never participated in races. A balance is found between promoting creativity and controlling costs.
Depending on the base car used, the minimum weight will be between 1490 kg and 1530 kg, with a maximum power of 577 hp. The weight limit is slightly higher on GT3 cars, but the FIA says this is a deliberate cost-cutting ploy.
Sports car racing traditionally revolves around endurance racing, so for the new series, super-fast charging is promised for the pit stops at mid-race, with a peak output of 700 kW, giving a time recharge of a few minutes to reach 60% capacity. Currently, the fastest electric vehicle chargers can reach 350 kW.
Charging facilities at the circuits remain vague at this stage, but the FIA promises that “the charging network will be developed to meet the demands of rapid charging and, depending on the location, will include elements of permanent and temporary infrastructure”.
Unlike Formula E, competing manufacturers will be allowed to choose and build their own custom battery configurations. These will be supplied by Saft, a subsidiary of the oil company Total, which has designed lithium-ion pocket cells for the new series. The battery capacity is limited to 87 kWh, while the maximum allowed energy regeneration is 700 kW.
Further development freedoms will allow manufacturers to choose their own powertrain, with two or four-wheel drive being allowed. Torque control will also be allowed at each wheel.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-21 23:01:23
