Skoda & partners to develop electric rally car
Skoda, Kreisel Electric and Baumschlager Rallye & Racing are jointly developing the all-electric Skoda RE-X1 Kreisel rally car. The debut in the Austrian Rally Championship is planned for July this year.
The concept car is based on the chassis of a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, which is one of the most successful rally cars in the Rally2 category with a combustion engine. In the E version, the Fabia is powered by an 860-volt electric motor with 260 kW peak power. The maximum torque is 600 Nm.
The 860-volt battery has an energy content of 52.5 kWh and is integrated in the vehicle floor. The rally car had to be adapted for this, and the chassis was also modified for the new weight distribution. The first chassis built for the concept car is an asphalt version. But Baumschlager Rallye & Racing, the project partner for the test programme and future competition activities, has already extended the development of the Skoda RE-X1 Kreisel to gravel tracks, according to the VW subsidiary’s statement.
The battery itself was developed by Kreisel Electric, using the “bespoke thermal management fluid” developed jointly with Shell. “We are very excited about the cooperation with ŠKODA Motorsport,” says managing director Philipp Kreisel. “Together we not only share the vision for the sustainable future of motorsports. We as well follow the same strategy of transferring technologies and engineering solutions from racing to road cars.”
“The concept car ŠKODA RE-X1 Kreisel is an exciting combination of traditional and future-orientated technology,” says Michal Hrabánek, Head of Skoda Motorsport. “We provided our best experience, based on developing already three generations of the rally-going ŠKODA FABIA. The concept car offers all the setup possibilities of the latest generation ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo, but with a fully electric powertrain and I really believe rally fans will find such a combination truly interesting.”
Homologation by the Austrian motorsport association AMF (ÖAMTC) will allow it to take part in competitions. The concept car is scheduled to take part in a first event before the end of July.
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