RALLYCROSS’ NEXT GENERATION GET TO GRIPS WITH FIA RX2E CAR

By 24th February 2021NEWS
  • Prospective competitors enjoy their first taste of electric rallycross in Spain
  • World RX ace De Ridder hails ‘hugely impressive’ instant power and torque
  • Young gun Steinsholt ‘working hard’ to join the grid for inaugural campaign

Seven drivers got a glimpse of the future when they tried out the new FIA RX2e Championship car around Spain’s Circuit Calafat earlier this month, with the test drawing unanimous praise ahead of the first-ever FIA electric rallycross championship’s inaugural season.

FIA RX2e will join the undercard to the high-profile FIA World Rallycross Championship at six European events in 2021, beginning at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 22/23 May.

In anticipation of what is expected to be a full 20-car grid for the championship’s maiden campaign, testing has been proceeding at a rapid rate, with official test-driver Oliver Eriksson and namesake and countryman Sebastian Eriksson both putting the car through its paces in recent months.

The test days at Calafat – in Spain’s northern Catalunya region – marked the first opportunity for prospective competitors to climb into the cockpit themselves and experience the FIA RX2e car’s cutting-edge on-board technology. Guillaume De Ridder, Ole Henry Steinsholt, Damien Meunier, Iván Ares, Pepe Arqué, Pablo Suárez and Guillaume Meura all took turns behind the wheel, and all were unquestionably impressed (see individual feedback below).

Jointly designed and developed by Spanish electro-mobility specialist QEV Technologies and Swedish rallycross powerhouse Olsbergs MSE, the bespoke, lightweight, four wheel-drive RX2e car is built around a spaceframe chassis and incorporates two independent powertrains alongside a final-spec 30kWh battery, with the motor generating 250kW (335bhp) of power and – following recent upgrades – up to 510Nm torque.

The battery is mounted next to the driver in the centre of the car to ensure optimum, 50/50 weight distribution, while power is supplied evenly to the front and rear wheels by a pair of motors and inverters, all of which benefit from a cooling system to prevent excessive temperatures.

From inside the cockpit, competitors can manually adjust the amount of torque produced by the front and rear motors, the total torque deployed by all four wheels during the launch and the degree of regenerative braking on the front and rear axles.