Ford is on fire with electric performance vehicles lately, pushing out incredible one-offs like the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 and Mustang Mach-E 1400, both of which produce 1,400 horsepower using multiple electric motors. But now, World Rally Championship team Stohl Advanced Research and Development (STARD) is teaming up with the automaker to build and sell the Ford Fiesta ERX2, the world’s first all-electric customer rally car.
The ERX2 is based on the Ford Fiesta MK8 ST bodyshell and has been developed around the FIA World Rallycross Championship’s Projekt E category ERX2 regulations. It incorporates STARD’s REVelution powertrain system, which uses three electric motors that produce a combined 450 kW (603 horsepower) and 1,002 Nm (739 pound-feet) of torque with a top speed of 240 kilometers-per-hour (149 miles-per-hour), using a four-wheel drive system and two-speed transmissions fitted to both axles.
Not only is the ERX2 the very first electric custom car program, but it’s also designed to offer unprecedented affordability for a high performance EV race car, with a race-ready price of 374,000 Euros ($431,091), far less than that of current ICE rallycross supercars eligible for the FIA World Rallycross Championship, but with similar performance and significantly lower running costs.
STARD owner Manfred Stohl debuted a test version of the electric Fiesta rally car in Hungary last week, making it the very first electric car ever raced in rallycross. And it was undoubtedly a successful outing, as Stohl took home the win.
Meanwhile, the first Fiesta ERX2 examples have already been delivered to a handful of customers, including Holten Motorsport in Norway.
“I believe this is the start of a new era for customer and private motorsport,” said Michael Sakowicz, STARD CEO and founder. “The primary target of the STARD Ford Fiesta ERX2 is of course to be raced in Projekt E, the leading electric support category to the FIA World Rallycross Championship, but also in other environments. The car has undergone all FIA safety checks, particularly for the HV systems which makes this the first motorsport EV powertrain equipped race car package to complete FIA checks since Formula E. Therefore the possibilities to race with the car are pretty much unlimited. This includes national rallycross, hill climbs, city races, and more.”
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this revolutionary new electric rally car, so be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Fiesta news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
If Ford can help build such an electric racing car, they can produce electric cars for the laypersons at reasonable prices, because EVs have much less maintenance and lower TCO. The average EV gets its first real maintenance after ten years or 90,000 miles. No gas, and no oil, hoses, filters, plugs, coolant, or belt changes at all. Brake pads last over five years. No more visits to gas stations , and very few dealer visits. The best part is that “refueling” (charging) is done at your home while you sleep!
There is only one problem with charging at home. Does your electrical service have the capacity? Nissan and the City of Phoenix launched into an agreement for the release of the LEAF. They got all of the permits and paper work done for a single electrical contractor and the price was included with the vehicle. A lot of people who wanted to purchase the vehicle did not have service capacity, they had to spend another 2-3 grand for a new service.
My neighbor has a Ford hybrid and in 3 years his batteries have degraded their range by 20%. I have told him why but he has done nothing about it. Charging at 120v takes more than over night for most cars. Charging at 240v is where the service problem be comes apparent.
Do not get me wrong I think it is a great idea and when we get better battery and charging systems it will become main stream. I got to drive first generation EV1 did not even have A/C which in Phoenix is a bit crazy.
Hello reg Ford Bronco
What is the most chosen engine?
% 4 cyl engines petrol
% V6 engines petrol
What a car……….!
Folke Mallorcs
Thank you so much for your informative article. It is really helpful who wants to buy an electric racing. I think this is the best part of electric car that you do not need to go to petrol pump for refueling.