FIA presents guidelines for GT electric racing class with fast charging pit stops
FIA, the International Federation of Various Motor Sports, announces guidelines for an electric GT class. Manufacturers can use batteries that support fast charging with 700 kW, which should make it possible to recharge in a few minutes.
Cars in the GT electric class must be based on production models and the conversion of GT3 models is also possible, the FIA writes. Participating parties may make their own batteries and electric powertrain, but they must all use the same battery cells. It concerns battery technology from Saft, a business unit of Total, which makes li-ion cells that support fast charging with 700 kW. The payload is twice as high as what is now possible with the latest electric cars for public roads; they go up to 350kW.
The battery may have a maximum capacity of 87kWh and the power of the electric motors is a maximum of 430kW. Manufacturers can choose from rear-wheel or four-wheel drive. According to the FIA, the battery technology used makes it possible to organize races on fully-fledged circuits where the cars make pit stops of ‘a few minutes’ in order to charge the battery to 60 percent. Depending on the circuit, a permanent or temporary charging infrastructure will be built for this.
Depending on the model, the minimum weight of the GT electric racing cars is 1490 to 1530 kg. That is higher than the minimum weight of the GT3 class, which is between 1200 and 1300 kg. According to the FIA, the higher weight means that less need to be chosen for expensive materials.
Races with the GT electric cars will be on permanent tracks and races will be comparable in length to GT3 races. The electric variants accelerate faster and will set faster qualifying times, according to the FIA. The cars are expected to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 300 km/h.
According to the FIA, the rules of the GT electric class encourage car manufacturers to develop new techniques that are also relevant for high-performance production cars. The organization expects both manufacturers specializing in electric vehicles and traditional car brands already present in the GT3 to participate in the new class.
The electric GT class will be set up alongside the GT3 class. A global competition for the GT electric cars will be announced “in due course”, the FIA said. According to the organization, there are many manufacturers who are interested in participating.
Formula E also considers pit stops to top up. In the past, car switches were still used there. According to The Race, there is talk of pit stops of 30 seconds for fast charging with powers from 600 to 800kW. That would be introduced from the 2022 season.