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

Referred to as Electrical Sport Automobile (ESV), the brand new class is the primary sanctioned by the FIA for electrical race automobiles derived from street automobiles. It is meant 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, based on an FIA press launch.

Taking its cue from the Group N class for internal-combustion automobiles, ESV will permit 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 will exclude the various electrical crossovers at the moment in the marketplace. A typical U.S.-spec Hyundai Ioniq 5, for instance, stands 63.0 inches tall.

FIA Electrical Sport Automobile class

As a production-based class, producers should construct a sure variety of street automobiles to homologate EV fashions for ESV. On the outset, the requirement will likely be 300 models 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 permit for fender flares to accommodate wider tires and extra cooling ducts. Sure parts, 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 may also apply its Efficiency Issue methodology from hill-climb racing, which creates a worth primarily based on components equivalent to weight, energy, and aerodynamic efficiency. There may be additionally an allowance for groups to view real-time power consumption by means of onboard knowledge loggers.

FIA Electrical Sport Automobile class

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