CUPRA e-Racer - The first fully electric competition touring car 27.07.2018: Maiden dynamic test of the CUPRA e-Racer with Jordi Gené at the wheel • Successful testing on the Castellolí (Barcelona) track confirms the highly competitive performance of the CUPRA e-Racer

Maiden dynamic test of the CUPRA e-Racer with Jordi Gené at the wheel
 


•    Successful testing on the Castellolí (Barcelona) track confirms the highly competitive performance of the CUPRA e-Racer


•    CUPRA testing and development driver Jordi Gené, had his first dynamic contact with an electric competition touring car


•    The CUPRA e-Racer is a prelude to the brand’s commitment to electric racing vehicles
 



The Castellolí (Barcelona) circuit was the backdrop where race driver Jordi Gené truly tested the limits of the e-Racer, the first ever fully electric competition touring car, which CUPRA is developing with his help.




After enjoying several successes in the WTCC series and his prior experience as a F1 test driver, Gené’s expertise and the work carried out by the CUPRA technical team aim to enable the e-Racer to have its own electric touring car category, the eTCR, in the championship in 2020.
 


Following the battery tests carried out recently on the Grobnik track in Croatia, these new dynamic tests were used to verify the maximum output of the engines, power management with regards to the temperature of all the elements, especially the batteries, and its driveability, by closely examining accelerator response, the brake system and energy recovery.



The goal of these sessions is to continue making adjustments and maximise the performance and reliability of every component.



 During the next round of testing in September, engineers and technicians are going to focus on reducing the lap times of this electric completion touring car, which aims to unseat all current TCRs on the track and take home the championship win.



CUPRA Racing director Jaime Puig pointed out that “with the CUPRA e-Racer we want to prove that the future of competition in electric, and that an eTCR is just as competitive or even more than petrol powered race touring cars.



We trust that the results of the tests we are performing on the track will help encourage other brands and hope to see the eTCR category become a reality in 2020.”




Jordi Gené, CUPRA’s official testing and development driver, was responsible for putting the e-Racer through the paces, and in his opinion it was “a string of pleasant surprises”. That is how he described his first foray into the world of electric competition cars.



“It delivers impressive acceleration, and the excellent distribution of its batteries gives it a low centre of gravity with a much better than expected driving feel. The only scope for improvement we see is with the braking, as it is obviously a heavier car and more difficult to stop with precision.”



The CUPRA e-Racer compensates its increased weight from the batteries with greater output, enabling it to outperform a TCR on the track.



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