In the last month, we’ve seen loads of announcements of upcoming road cars and almost all of them have been EVs. While the electrification of road-cars is underway, racing categories are also going electric.
Starting with Formula E, we recently seen the first round of Extreme E and now a new racing category from the FIA, the world’s governing body for racing, comes Electric GT.
This innovative breed of cars will operate in a similar performance window to the current generation of GT3 cars but will exceed their combustion engine-powered counterparts in areas such as acceleration and qualifying pace.
The new class is based on direct manufacturer involvement, with the technical regulations prepared to achieve the right balance between permitting the OEMs to express themselves in terms of creativity and developing cutting-edge technology, while at the same time preventing cost escalation.
The category will be opened open to both specialists in electric vehicle construction without previous combustion engine motorsport experience as well as manufacturers already committed to the GT3 class, who will be able to utilise the architecture and certain design elements of their existing cars and convert them to electric power.
Depending on the base model, the minimum weight of the cars will vary from 1490 to 1530kg, with maximum power reaching 430kW. Setting the weight threshold higher than it is for the GT3 class will limit the use of expensive materials.
When it comes to the batteries used for the category, they’ll be provided by Saft, a subsidiary of Total, and manufacturers will be able to build their own bespoke battery layouts based on Saft-supplied cells. The packs will have an 87kW capacity, powering up to 4 electric motors with a max power output of 430kW.
This all-electric drivetrain will propel cars from 0-100km/hr in 2.4 seconds, up to a top speed of 300km/hr. When the cars need to be recharged, that’ll be done using 700kW fast-charging.
“The market for high-performance electric road supercars is on a constant rise, hence a platform to allow manufacturers to develop and showcase their technology was much needed. Creating these technical regulations has been a key project for the FIA GT Commission over the last eighteen months.
We’ve held regular discussions with GT manufacturers through our Technical Working Groups and there’s keen interest in this new category. It also widens the FIA’s GT portfolio, coexisting alongside with GT3 which will remain the focus of the customer racing market worldwide for the time being.”
Leena Gade, FIA GT Commission President
