The cars for the first-ever 100% emissions-free super car series were presented on the party island of Ibiza on Tuesday. The Electric GT World Series is set to start in 2017 in Europe and America on 10 racing tracks.
Even as the electric-powered Formula E heads into its third season on October 6, 2016 with a race in Hong Kong, there are new developments on the cards for the purely electric touring car sport. The Electric GT World Series presented itself on Tuesday in the Spanish harbor town of Ibiza.
Its founders Mark Gemmell from Scotland and Agustin Paya from Spain unveiled a modified Tesla Model S version P85+ that will be the base model made available to the ten teams with two drivers each. “We want to show that taking care of our earth doesn’t mean that you have to do without racing and without having fun,“ said Gemmell.
The cars, whose power unit and battery are the exact same as the ordinary road version, feature 416 PS with an enormous 600 Newton meters torque. “There’s even a considerably more powerful four-wheel drive version. It seems that the model with the rear-wheel drive is better suited for racing,“ said Paya, who also works as a test driver. “It’s got an incredible acceleration with an extremely low center of gravity. It’s a family limousine that’s also ideal for racing.“ To be adopted for racing, the car’s bumpers, cooling, brakes and steering were upgraded, changes that cut the cars weight by 500 kg even though a rollbar required by FIA was added.
At a news conference, CEO Mark Gemmel announced there would be seven races in Europe in 2017 and three in America. The racing format is particularly interesting: there will be two races of 30 minutes each – one at day and one at night. Gemmell said it was too early to announce any of the teams. But two drivers have been presented: American Stefan Wilson and Italy’s Vittoria Piria.
The pictures show the Tesla Model S P85+ with the “Electric GT“ racing equipment, the world’s first purely electric touring car series during a presentation in the harbor of Ibiza Town/Spain on September 27, 2016. The car with 416 PS was presented by chairmen Mark Gemmell and Agustin Paya.
Pictures available free of charge for editorial use: Joerg Mitter for The Green News