The new age of the FIA World Rallycross Championship finally dawned last night (11 August) as the brand new all-electric beasts were revealed to the public for the first time.
The new RX1e class cars were unveiled during a launch event in the Norwegian town of Stjørdal. The rain could not dampen the spirits of the assembled crowd as they were warmed up by an electric DJ set before the new machines were revealed. There was a similarly excited reception as the drivers stepped out and shared their thoughts on the new era of WorldRX.
Safe to say, they are all eager to get going. Four-time world champion Johan Kristoffersson said: “I think fans are going to be surprised by the performance and speed. I’ve rarely felt so pumped going into a new season – it’s certainly going to be one to remember.”
While this may be a new era for the sport, there are still large elements of familiarity for the fans – one of Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS‘s main rivals is going to be the similarly legendary Hansen World RX Team, helmed by Kenneth Hansen. Speaking separately to the event, Hansen explained the challenges that have led to this historic moment: “It was not as simple as just removing the internal combustion engine and putting in the electric powertrain – this has been a huge effort by everyone in the team, in Sweden, France and England.”
The end result is cars that produce 500kW of power (the equivalent of 680bhp) and 880Nm of instant torque, making them the fastest rallycross cars ever. They are so fast, they even took former world champion Timmy Hansen by surprise: “I’m very positively surprised by many things, mostly with how fast the car is – it really is as fast as we had been hoping. The speed of the launch is just incredible now – it’s something completely different.”
With the thrill of the new machines displayed at the launch event, combined with the talent on the grid, the excitement levels are building for the season’s opening round which takes place this weekend (13/14 August) in Hell.
