Racing
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IndyCar racing is planning to embrace hybrid technology, via a single supplier for all teams, beginning in 2022.
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VW ID R Nurburgring lap sets efficiency record too
The electric race car's lap wasn't only a blistering lap time, it was also the most efficient racing lap, too.
Eric C. Evarts -
"Big Daddy" drag racer Don Garlits sets electric dragster record
Drag-racer Don Garlits broke another record in an all-electric race car last Saturday, July 20, 2019, on the anniversary of the moon landing.
Eric C. Evarts -
Volkswagen ID R sets new EV lap record at Nürburgring
Driven by Romain Dumas, the VW ID R electric racecar set a record time of 6:05:33 at Germany's demanding track.
Eric C. Evarts -
Aston Martin Rapide E makes first public appearance at Monaco e-Grand Prix
The Aston Martin Rapide E just made its public debut sitting on a stand at the Shanghai auto show last month, but the company didn't wait long to show it off blasting around a track. The car appeared Saturday racing around the street circuit set up for the Formula E Monaco Grand Prix, which was run...
Eric C. Evarts -
VW looking for battery lessons, ‘Ring record with ID R racecar
Volkswagen is taking its fully electric Pikes Peak winner to the Nürburgring, where it’s learning what happens in pushing batteries to the limit.
Green Car Reports -
Hyundai quietly bumped up the price for a new Kona Electric, Ford used big data for better charging, and EV racing may have a future.
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What kind of racing can best stoke interest in electric vehicles? Twitter poll results
Our readers may be having a change of heart when it comes to electric-car racing based on the results of our latest Twitter poll. In previous comments and surveys, readers have expressed little interest in electric car racing beyond, perhaps drag racing, and expressed cynicism and sometimes...
Eric C. Evarts -
What kind of racing can best stoke new interest in electric vehicles? Take our Twitter poll
Increasingly, electric cars are taking to race tracks of all kinds to prove themselves not only to their own drivers and other competitors, but also to fans. Volkswagen set a new record climbing Pikes Peak with its electric ID R that didn't lose power to the thin air at the top. Formula E, which...
Eric C. Evarts -
Could grassroots racing bridge the electric-car culture clash?
The daily news cycle already provides plenty of fodder for taking sides for or against electric cars. In the real world it’s just not that polarizing. Most people who decide to embrace electric vehicles probably understand that EVs do anything but preclude driving enjoyment; and many want to...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Toyota Prius AWD price, more VW electrics, French protests: Today's Car News
Toyota announced pricing for the new 2019 Prius AWD-e. In trade talks with the Trump administration, VW's CEO revealed the company could use Ford factories in the U.S. to build new models—which could include electric cars. Rioters in France this month won what they wanted: a reprieve from...
Eric C. Evarts -
What type of electric-car racing interests you? Twitter poll results
Electric cars and racing can make strange bedfellows. The purpose of electric cars is to save energy. Racing, whether it uses gasoline or electrons, is a spectacle of speed—conservation takes a backseat. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen's ID R Pikes Peak race car shows why you should care about...
Eric C. Evarts -
Watching electric cars race is different than watching a race with conventional race cars. Most notably, the sound of squealing tires stands out as the loudest sound you hear—when drivers burn rubber at the start to warm up the tires, try to out-brake each other into tight turns, or overcook corners. In most auto races, engine sounds largely drown out these harbingers of hard racing. The Formula E race series wrapped up its season with a 43-lap race on the waterfront in Brooklyn, New York Sunday afternoon. READ THIS: Why all electric-car owners should follow Formula E racing The winning...
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Not exactly top fuel: electric cars come to top-level drag racing
Electric cars have started to dominate racing series from the Pikes Peak hill climb to formula cars to Saturday night grudge matches between Tesla and Dodge Challenger owners at rented local drag-strips. At professional levels, though, racing organizations have been slow to change, and stock cars...
Eric C. Evarts -
Volkswagen's ID R Pikes Peak race car shows why you should care about electric car racing
Volkswagen's Pikes Peak hillclimb race car, called the ID R, obliterated the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb's Unlimited class record Sunday by 16 seconds. Its Le Mans-prototype looks, complete with overgrown rear wing, were nearly as wild as its overall time up the paved mountain road: 7...
Jim Resnick -
Jaguar I-Pace beats Tesla Model X in electric car drag-race video
The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace SUV that debuted Thursday beat all the German luxury makes to the punch in launching a viable competitor to the looks and capabilities of electric cars offered by Tesla. The 14-year-old Silicon Valley startup has attracted huge attention for the stunning acceleration of its...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S racing is now a real thing, approved by FIA sanctioning body
It's formally called the Electric Production Car Series, but for the moment it may come to be known as "the Tesla Model S series" by electric-car fans and racing followers alike. After being unveiled almost two years ago, it's now officially a legitimate racing series: On Wednesday that the FIA...
John Voelcker -
Stella Vie 'family sedan' wins long-distance solar car race
Earlier this month, the 30th World Solar Challenge kicked off in Darwin, Australia, with 42 competitors vying for victory. At the end of the 3,022-kilometer (1,880-mile) race from Darwin to Adelaide, one team emerged victorious in the highly contested Cruiser class. Solar Team Eindhoven, from the...
Sean Szymkowski -
The next Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race is eight months away still, so a press release on a carmaker's entry into next June's event comes out of left field. But for Volkswagen, it's another small step to underscore its major commitment to battery-electric vehicles as its two-year-old diesel emission cheating scandal continues to reverberate. The German automaker will take a new electric race car to Colorado with an audacious goal: It hopes to set a new record-low time for climbing the twisting peak. DON'T MISS: VW says it needs '40 gigafactories' for electric-car batteries by 2025...
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Solar-powered car race kicks off 30 years of World Solar Challenge
Although a car powered solely by solar power is far from reality, the 30th anniversary of the World Solar Challenge showcased just how far the technology has come. World Solar Challenge kicked off its celebrations with this year's iteration of the solar-powered car race in Darwin, Australia, on...
Sean Szymkowski -
Scots couple complete grueling Mongol Rally in electric car
The Mongol Rally is no small undertaking for any driver, in any type of vehicle. The 10,000-mile rally takes drivers from Europe to Siberia, via Mongolia, with no support vehicles or backup cars. On July 16, 2017, a Scottish couple arrived at the starting line at the Goodwood race course in England...
Sean Szymkowski -
Formula E races to add Jaguar I-Pace electric-car race series
Media days at this week's Frankfurt motor show seemed to be all about electric cars and concepts, from mass-market brands like Volkswagen to luxury makers like Mercedes. Jaguar Land Rover, however, was able to get its own share of press by announcing that its upcoming electric car would go racing...
John Voelcker -
Faraday Future, short on cash, to leave Formula E electric-car race series: report
Faraday Future may abandon its Formula E racing efforts to save precious funds as the electric-car startup company scales back many of its ambitious plans. The FIA Formula E series, which will receive an influx of new competitors in 2019, has become a de facto arena for automakers to test battery...
Sean Szymkowski -
Will Rallycross go electric? Michael Andretti on why series is perfect for EVs
Rallycross has become a sensation in motorsport relatively quickly: similar to autocross, a single car races against the clock on a set course or "stage," usually in the dirt, mud, or gravel—anything other than a paved track, in other words. Drivers with the best time are deemed the winner...
Sean Szymkowski