NASCAR showed off a new electric vehicle prototype at a Chicago street race today as part of a demonstration of its sustainability plans with Swedish electrification company ABB as its new partner. The car looks more like a performance crossover like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and is completely different from a traditional regular car in many ways. Don’t expect the ABB NASCAR EV prototype to replace gas-burning V8 engines anytime soon, though.
According to today’s announcement, NASCAR said the car is equipped with three electric motors, one in front and two in the rear, powered by a 78-kilowatt-hour liquid-cooled battery that can produce “peak power” of 1,000 kilowatts.
The electric car rides on a modified version of NASCAR’s next-generation chassis, launching in 2022, which is designed with the transition to alternative fuels in mind, NASCAR writes. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota helped with its development, the group wrote.
Prior to its unveiling, the $1.5 million prototype was reportedly driven only by NASCAR driver David Ragan Associated Press. Ragan told the media that his fastest lap at the Martinsville, Va., racetrack was “two-tenths of a second slower” than a typical race car driver, even though it accelerated nearly twice as fast. Unsurprisingly, weight was a big factor, slowing him down in turns.
The traditional regular car isn’t taking its final left turn, despite rumors that it will introduce hybrids within a few years. Still, it could do something similar to the ABB-sponsored all-electric Formula E series; according to NASCAR, it “may explore the possibility of high-performance racing” nbc news.
