The FIA on Friday launched the primary technical rules for a brand new electrical racing class.

Known as Electrical Sport Car (ESV), the brand new class is the primary sanctioned by the FIA for electrical race automobiles derived from highway automobiles. It is supposed to function an entry-level class for electrical racing on the nationwide and regional ranges, in addition to allow producers to supply turnkey electrical race automobiles, in keeping with an FIA press launch.

Taking its cue from the Group N class for internal-combustion automobiles, ESV will enable solely minimal modifications from road-going manufacturing fashions. It is open to “grand touring automobiles and four-door, coupe-shaped sports activities sedans,” with a chassis-height restrict of 57.4 inches. That might exclude the numerous electrical crossovers at present in the marketplace. An ordinary U.S.-spec Hyundai Ioniq 5, for instance, stands 63.0 inches tall.

FIA Electrical Sport Car class

As a production-based class, producers should construct a sure variety of highway automobiles to homologate EV fashions for ESV. On the outset, the requirement shall be 300 items over the primary 24-month interval from homologation.

ESV is open to rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive autos, with a minimal energy output of 410 hp. Bodywork should stay largely unchanged, however the guidelines enable for fender flares to accommodate wider tires and extra cooling ducts. Sure elements, together with doorways, rear hatches, spoilers, and diffusers, will be changed with lighter-weight variations sustaining the inventory form.

To assist organizers group automobiles competitively, the FIA can even apply its Efficiency Issue methodology from hill-climb racing, which creates a price primarily based on elements similar to weight, energy, and aerodynamic efficiency. There’s additionally an allowance for groups to view real-time power consumption by way of onboard information loggers.

FIA Electrical Sport Car class

Whereas the FIA has backed the System E single-seater collection and an electrical rallycross class, that is the group’s first concerted effort to again a production-based electrical racing class for tarmac circuits.

The FIA beforehand supplied assist to the Electrical GT collection, which aimed to make use of modified Tesla Mannequin S race automobiles (with no obvious assist from Tesla). It additionally introduced an electrical class in 2021, promising efficiency much like present GT3 automobiles, however neither effort materialized.