[March 27, 2020]
Since the world came to a COVID-19 halt, all motorsports has turned green, in that all sanctioning bodies are hosting virtual racing, usually utilizing the iRacing platform. From NASCAR to IMSA to SCCA, iRacing has taken over physical racing. But that doesn’t mean real-world racing development has gone caput. And to that end, I present Extreme E.
A lesser-known (and somewhat scant on details, despite the the fact that the series has pumped out six press releases this month alone) electric racing series, Extreme E is an off-road series that came to light in April 2019. The first partnership the series announced was with Spark Racing Technology, which is slated to engineer, develop, and assemble Extreme E’s competition SUVs. Teams would essentially be handed a homologated tubeframe chassis, along with suspension, dampers, brakes, and steering, leaving the teams to develop motors, inverters, and bodywork.
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Batteries for Extreme E SUVs will be provided by Williams Advanced Engineering. Williams Advanced Engineering, you may recall, was the original battery supplier for the ABB Formula E series. The crossover makes sense, since the founder of Extreme E is Alejandro Agag, who is also the CEO of Formula E.
“Made to withstand extreme environments, conditions, and terrains, the batteries will be compatible with Formula E-specification motors and produce a maximum power output of 470 kW (equivalent to approx. 630 bhp),” Extreme E stated in a 2019 press release. Therein, the batteries are actually the same 54 kWh batteries used during the first four seasons of Formula E.
In July 2019 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Extreme E unveiled its competition SUV, dubbed the Odyssey 21.
While it was originally stated that Extreme E SUVs would produce some 630 hp, the number has since dwindled to 400 kW (550 hp), although that level of power is still significant enough to reportedly accelerate the 3,640 lb SUV from 0-62 in an estimated 4.5 seconds – up hill.
Extreme E has also named a number of broadcast TV deals, namely with Fox Sports, BBC, and Dubai Sports. In addition, the series has seen various drivers announce interest in the series, including Jamie Chadwick, the inaugural W Series winner.
The Extreme E series is slated to launch in January 2021, with stops in claimed “remote locations” ranging from Dakar to Saudi Arabia to Nepal and beyond, with Extreme E describing its race format thusly:
“Extreme E will use a traditional round-robin format with two groups of six teams – with the top four progressing to the knock-out stage and each driver going head-to-head to earn a place in the final. The off-road stages will be around 6-10km in length with a series of virtual gates to be navigated through by drivers. The tracks comprise of five to six gates, on a combination of off-road tracks (e.g. Amazon Rainforests Track) and open ground (e.g. Arctic Ice Race).”
Considering the small 54 kWh batteries and the bulky weight of the SUVs, the races will have to be short.
Regardless, we’re hopeful, because electric racing series might be what it takes to help make EVs “normal” in the public eye.
2021 Extreme E Schedule (Provisional)
Jan. 23-24: Lac Rose, Dakar, Senegal
March 5-6: Al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia
May 14-15: Kali Gandaki Valley, Mustang District, Nepal
Aug. 28-29: Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
Oct. 30-31: Santarém, Pará, Brazil
(Images courtesy Extreme E)
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